Soul Edge: Forge of the Gods
by ant423
Summary: Two years have passed since his fateful quest to find Soul Edge; Thomas Hunter now faces a dangerous cult as he searches for the birthplace of the cursed sword. Sequel to "Soul Edge: The Beginning".
1. Prologue: 1558

**A/N:** I do not own the rights to the _Soul_ Series or any of its characters. This story is a sequel to my other fanfic, _Soul Edge: The Beginning_ , so be sure to check it out before reading this one! Updates weekly.

* * *

 ** _No man or woman born, coward or brave, can shun his destiny.  
_** **-Homer, The Iliad**

 _ **Transcending history and the world,  
**_ _ **A tale of souls and swords, eternally retold…  
-**_ **Anonymous**

 **Prologue:**

 _Sorrento, Kingdom of Naples - June, 1558_.

"CHRISTINE," shouted Edge Master, "LOOK OUT!"

Christine, who was accompanying a group of civilians out of a burning cathedral, looked up and saw the steeple had broken off and was about to come crashing down on her. Christine yelled at the crowd, forcing them to move quicker as tons of brick and steel struck the ground behind them.

With the crowd safely away from the cathedral, Italian soldiers arrived to escort them further away. Christine, battered and filthy from the ensuing chaos, took a moment to observe her surroundings. The sight of collapsed buildings, dead civilians and the fleet of Ottoman ships in the Marina Grande unloading cannon fire on the helpless city was an overwhelming sight to behold.

"Christine," Edge Master's voice snapped Christine back into reality, "Are you alright?"

"I don't understand," she said, "What do they want here?"

"This city is in Spanish territory," replied Edge Master, "Whom the Ottomans have been at odds with for years. You knew that, Christine."

"But they're killing innocents!" cried Christine.

"I know, but we are not here to argue the morality of this invasion; we have to help as many of the civilians as we can. Escort these people to safety, then rendezvous with me at the top of that hill, understand?"

Edge Master pointed towards the hill he was referring to.

"Alright," said Christine.

Christine and Edge Master split up once again to each rescue more civilians. The constant sound of cannon fire kept Christine on edge; any one of them could have been aimed in her direction. As Christine moved deeper into the city, she found a family hiding in an alley.

" _Fretta!_ " Christine yelled, her Italian far from fluent, " _Seguimi! Seguimi!_ "

Christine continued yelling as she escorted the frightened family out of the alley.

"Quickly," she continued, "We must get…ACK!"

A cannonball had struck a tall building mere blocks from where Christine stood, causing it to collapse. Despite the danger, she persevered, hoping to get the family to safety.

"Oh, Thomas," she whispered, "I would give anything to see you right now. I have never been so overwhelmed in my life…"

She eventually reached a large plaza, where a group of soldiers awaited. They immediately grabbed the family and began escorting them to a safehouse.

" _Mia figlia!_ " screamed the mother, " _Per favore_ _, salvate mia figlia!_ "

"What did she say?" asked Christine.

"Her daughter is missing," said the squad's commander, in broken English, "They must have gotten separated."

"I have to go back," insisted Christine, "I must find her! She must be close to where I found her family."

"No, you will not!" snapped the captain, "This is no place for a woman! You will let us handle it from here!"

Ignoring the commander's demands, Christine turned back and ran down the street to where she originally found the frightened family. She stopped in her tracks upon seeing a little girl at the entrance of an abandoned store. The girl, barely six or seven, had olive skin and dark black hair and wore a plain brown dress, which was torn and filthy from the chaos.

"Your mother is searching for you," said Christine, "You must come with me!"

The girl stared at Christine.

" _Tua madre_ ," Christine struggled to find the right words, " _Sta Cercando_ …"

The little girl said nothing. She merely turned around and ran deeper into the store.

"Damnit," Christine muttered.

Just as Christine was about to begin her pursuit, she felt someone grab her shoulder. It was the commander from before.

"You!" he said, "I told you to stay back!"

"I found her," said Christine, "She went in there! Please, let me go after her."

"Absolutely not," said the commander, "My men will go. We need to get you to…"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud "Boom". A cannonball had struck the building right across from where they were standing, causing most of it to collapse. The falling rubble landed so close to Christine and the soldiers that they were forced to dive out of its way. The shock and trauma caused Christine to momentarily pass out.

Christine awoke minutes later, covered in dust and debris. Her head was pounding and all she could hear was a loud, incessant ringing noise. Christine slowly placed a hand over her right ear and felt blood. As her vision slowly returned, she saw that each of the Italian soldiers accompanying her were laying injured on the ground as well, some barely alive. Just then, several figures appeared on the scene.

" _Non..._ " she whispered.

The Ottoman soldiers were beginning to disembark their ships and patrol the city in search of prisoners. Christine watched in horror as the Ottomans approached each of the fallen Italian soldiers and executed them with pistols. Just as they were about to reach Christine, their attention was momentarily diverted.

"Please," begged a voice, "Don't do this!"

It was the Italian commander who had tried to stop Christine. His leg had been crushed by a large stone block, rendering him unable to move. All he could do was beg for his life as the Ottomans approached him.

"Please!" he cried, "We have nothing you want! Just leave!"

One of the Ottomans observed the man for a second and smirked before executing him like the others.

"I have to get out of here," Christine whispered.

Christine looked around, desperate for an escape. It was then she spotted the little girl again, in the alley behind the store. Christine quietly stood up and snuck away from the horrible scene.

"Where is she going?" Christine wondered.

Still shaken before, and with a deep pain in her ribs, Christine stumbled through the alleyway in pursuit of the girl. The sounds of Ottoman soldiers pouring into the area behind her prompted her to move faster, despite her injuries. Christine eventually reached a staircase that led to a higher section of the city.

"I have to keep moving," she thought, while mounting the stairs.

At the top, Christine found the little girl again, this time standing in the doorway of a small house, ushering Christine over.

"Is this your home?" asked Christine, entering the house.

The house was small and minimally-decorated. Its interior consisted of a single room that functioned as a kitchen, dining area, and bedroom. The girl led Christine to the back of the room, where a small hatch lay on the floor.

" _Parfait_ ," said Christine, "We can hide from the soldiers in there!"

Christine opened the hatch, allowing herself and the girl to descend. The basement was pitch black, forcing Christine to feel her way around. The room felt extremely narrow, with a table on either side of her. Once Christine felt that there were candles on one of the tables, she immediately reached for the tinderbox she kept in her pocket.

" _Et, Voila!_ " she said, upon lighting one of the candles, "Better, _n'est-ce pas?_ "

The girl maintained her silence and began searching the tables for something.

"What are you looking for?" asked Christine.

The girl grabbed a small object and brought it to Christine. It was a necklace adorned with small gems and lined with gold. It bore the shape of two snakes clasping at each other with open mouths.

"What is it?" asked Christine, " _Che cos'e_?"

" _I soldati_ ," said the little girl, " _Sono qui per questo_!"

"I-I'm sorry, I don't understand…"

" _Sono qui per questo_ ," the girl repeated, before handing Christine the object.

Christine examined the necklace. Was the child actually implying that the Ottomans were searching for this object? It seemed unlikely, though Christine was nonetheless compelled to take it.

"I promise I won't let them take it," said Christine, pocketing it.

Christine knelt down and held out her arms. In response, the young girl hugged her. Just then, they heard footsteps above them. Christine instructed the girl to remain quiet, as the sounds of soldiers screaming and metal clashing rang above them.

"I have to help," said Christine, drawing her own rapier, " _Rimanga qui_ …"

The girl nodded as Christine climbed up and opened the hatch. She examined the room and saw two Ottoman soldiers kneeling near the side wall with their rifles pointed outside the window. They each fired shots at the Italian soldiers outside before withdrawing them inside to reload.

"Now's my chance," thought Christine.

Christine carefully snuck up on the two men and cut them down with her sword. Through the window, she could see Italian soldiers clashing with the Ottoman invaders. She decided to step outside and join them.

Upon stepping outside, Christine was immediately jumped by an Ottoman soldier. As he swung his kilij down at her, she deflected it with her rapier and twirled away from him.

" _Pis fahişe_!" yelled the soldier.

The man prepared to slice Christine, but she deflected his weapon, causing him to strike the side of the house. He kicked Christine away and attempted to slash her again, only this time, Christine ducked to avoid the attack. After blocking the next few attacks, Christine exploited an opening in his defense and impaled him. With her sword deep in his gut, the soldier died quickly.

Christine then aided the Italians in finishing off the remaining Ottomans in the area. Once they were all dead, the Italian soldiers pointed their rifles at Christine, forcing her to drop her rapier.

"Please," she begged, "I'm not the enemy! There's a little girl in that house, under a hatch in the floor! Her family is waiting for her!"

The soldiers stared blankly at Christine.

"Does anyone understand?" she asked.

One soldier uttered something in Italian, prompting the others to run inside the house. Moments later, they emerged holding the girl. Christine breathed a sigh of relief.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered, as she held out her hand.

As the soldier carried the girl away, the girl stretched her arm out as well, and for a brief second, their fingers touched. Christine had saved the girl, but she needed to get out of the city before things got worse.

"Ma'am," said one of the soldiers, "You must come with us. More Janissaries are expected to arrive."

"I can't," said Christine, "I need to meet with someone outside of town. Just keep watch over the child and her family, alright?"

"But miss…" began the soldier.

It was too late. Christine had already begun running away from the scene. She ran straight towards the hills surrounding the town and began to climb. From the hilltop, Christine was able to get a good view of chaos and the thousands of soldiers pouring into the city. Christine scoured the hills for Edge Master, but found no sign of him. She was running out of time and could no longer wait. Left with no choice, Christine began to run as far from the city as she could.

"I need to head east," she thought, "I have to find someone who can help me…And perhaps someone who can explain to me what this necklace is!"

That was the last Christine ever saw of Edge Master, but her journey was far from complete.


	2. Uninvited Guests

**Chapter 1:**

 _Boulogne, French Empire – 1560_

" _Comment ca vas_?" said Thomas, as he stood in front of a mirror, "No, that's not right. _Comment allez-vous?_ Hmmm…"

Since Thomas met Christine on his first adventure nearly two years ago, the two had developed a romantic relationship and eventually married. Thomas now lived in France in the manor that once belonged to Christine's father, Jean-Pierre. In his time living in France, Thomas had learned the language and adopted to its culture, though he never truly felt like he fit in to Christine's lavish lifestyle.

" _Mon cher_ ," called Christine, from outside the bedroom, "Are you ready? My uncle and his wife will be here soon."

"Yes, dear," said Thomas, adjusting his coat, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Christine entered the room and found Thomas rehearsing in front of a mirror. Christine wore an elegant white and blue dress with long, white gloves. Her hair was styled up into a beehive and her face was heavily powdered. Thomas, on the other hand, sported a long, black coat with a matching black vest, and a white linen shirt.

"Don't tell me you are nervous, Thomas," chuckled Christine.

"I'm terribly sorry if I appear that way," said Thomas, "It's just…I never met your uncle before and I haven't a clue what he'll think of me!"

Christine approached Thomas and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks of you," she said, "I love you, and that's all that matters."

Thomas turned to face Christine. He stared at her momentarily and smiled.

"You look stunning, by the way," he said.

"As do you," laughed Christine.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

" _Mademoiselle_ ," said a servant, "Le Monseigneur's carriage has just arrived."

"He's here," Christine said to Thomas, "Come. Let us get this dinner party over with."

Thomas nodded.

* * *

Outside the mansion grounds, an elegant white and gold carriage driven by two mares came to a halt. The driver of the carriage jumped down and place a rolled-up carpet up against the carriage door, which he unraveled up to the front gates of Christine's manor. The driver then proceeded to open the carriage door, allowing a middle-aged Frenchman to step out.

He sported a powdered wig and a small goatee and wore a white doublet covered by a blue jerkin, with a ruff collar and ruff wrists. He also sported slops with knee-high leggings and flat shoes. Once the driver had helped him descend from the carriage, he did the same for the man's wife. The wife, who appeared no older than sixteen, wore a brown dress with heavy amounts of ruff and exaggerated shoulders. Her hair and make-up were styled similarly to Christine.

From the second floor, Thomas watched through the window as Christine's uncle began his walk down the long carpet.

"Good Lord," said Thomas, "Is that your aunt? She looks like a child!"

"Technically speaking," began Christine, "My aunt passed away years ago. My uncle has recently remarried."

"Well," said Thomas, "I suppose dating them young is the best way to ensure they outlive you."

"Come," insisted Christine, "Let us greet our guests."

Thomas and Christine headed downstairs to the foyer, where a servant opened the front door. The driver of the carriage entered first in order to introduce the couple:

"Ahem," he said, "Introducing: Le Monseigneur Thibault Séverin-L'Amoreux de Calais, and his lovely wife, Marie-Hélène Létourneau de St-Omer."

All of the servants in Thomas' and Christine's house stood perfectly still as the Monseigneur entered the house, accompanied by his young wife.

"Ah, Christine," he said, kissing his niece's hand, "It is so wonderful to see you again."

" _Bonsoir_ ," said Thomas, holding out his hand, " _Un plaisir, Monseigneur_."

"Christine," the Monseigneur sneered, "Why is this servant speaking to me? Hasn't he been taught his place?"

"He is not a servant," chuckled Christine, "He is my husband, Thomas Hunter."

"Oh," scoffed Thibault, "So he is the commoner you married? A pity Jean-Pierre's mind had been too far-gone to put a stop this, mmm, unholy union."

Thomas clenched his fist tightly, but ultimately maintained his composure.

"Ahem," Christine intervened, trying to ease the tension, "Supper will be ready soon. How about we take a seat in the dining room?"

"Good idea," said Thibault, "A whole day of travelling has left me famished. Why doesn't your serv – er, husband pour us some fine wine while we sit and discuss current events?"

Thomas gnashed his teeth.

"Not a problem," said Christine, swiftly summoning one of her servants, "Fetch us some wine, please."

As the servant went to get wine, Christine led the others to the dining room.

* * *

Later, the guests were served their meals; the first course consisted of soup, followed by a generously-sized pork roast.

" _Magnifique,"_ said Thibault, lightly dabbing his lips with his napkin, "In all my previous visits, you never ceased to amaze."

"Thank you," said Christine, "Wait until you try the roast. You know, pork was always my father's favourite."

"Ah, yes," lamented Thibault, "My poor _beau-frère_. He and I did a great deal of hunting together. I was greatly saddened upon hearing of his death."

"We all were," assured Christine, "He went peacefully."

"At least I no longer have to hear any more of his nonsense about magical swords, eh?" said Thibault.

"You and me both," mouthed Thomas.

"So tell me," began Christine, "How did you and your wife meet?"

Marie-Hélène opened her mouth to speak, but Thibault raised his hand as if to threaten her with a slap.

"Woman," he snapped, "I did not permit you to speak!"

Marie-Hélène lowered her head in shame. Thomas and Christine glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Ahem," said Thibault, " _Excusez-moi_. I met the young _mademoiselle_ last year while meeting with Baron LaChance in St-Omer. She was his niece, but he had been raising her as his own. Smitten by her beauty, I paid the Baron a substantial amount to have her."

"I don't see how that's any better than my marriage to Christine," Thomas muttered under his breath.

"Thomas!" snapped Christine.

"I beg your pardon, young man?" said the Monseigneur.

"Nothing," said Thomas.

Christine chuckled nervously, "How about I get one of my servants to cut the roast?"

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, four cloaked figures emerged from the bushes surrounding the property. The servants patrolling the courtyard did not even notice the figures as they moved stealthily about.

As they got closer to the building, they split up; two men took the west side while the other two headed towards the back, but were nearly spotted.

"Who's there?" demanded a guard patrolling the rear.

He held up his lantern in the general direction he saw movement. Before he could react, one of the robed men approached from behind and covered his mouth while stabbing him in the spine with a dagger. One man hid the body behind a shrub, while another drew a grappling hook from his bag.

* * *

"Tell me, Thomas," began Thibault, "What did you do prior to meeting my lovely niece?"

"I-I worked in an antiques shop," replied Thomas.

"Oh. How, er, fascinating. I suppose I can see why you sought a better life here, hm? And tell me, what exactly did your father do?"

"He was a sailor. Prior to that, he served in the Royal Navy…"

"A naval officer? Christine, marrying a commoner is one thing, but an English navy brat? He is literally my enemy! Do you not remember their invasion of my hometown two years..."

The sound of Thomas' silverware crashing against the table echoed across the dining room. Without saying another word, Thomas slammed his napkin on his plate and stormed out the room.

"Your peasant husband is incredibly rude," noted Thibault.

"I'll go and speak with him," said Christine, "If you will give me one minute."

Christine stood up and headed through the same door Thomas went through.

"Hmph!" said Thibault, "If I wanted drama, I would have gone to _le thé_ _â_ _tre_ , _non_?"

Marie-Hélène smiled weakly at Thibault's joke.

* * *

In the lounge situated next to the dining room, Thomas slumped onto one of the couches and rubbed his head in frustration. Christine joined him soon after.

"Thomas," she said, "Is everything okay?"

"Does everything look okay?" the young man demanded, "I try, Christine. Really, I do. Yet, somehow, in the eyes of your relatives, I never quite fit in! Your father was the only person who respected me – The only one – And now, he's gone!"

"You may not come from a rich background," began Christine, "But…"

"Spare me the lecture about having a pure heart, or about being the hero who saved the world from Soul Edge. Take a good look where it's gotten me! Your own uncle doesn't see me as anything more than a commoner and he never will. This entire marriage was a mistake."

"Thomas, you don't mean that!"

"Maybe I do. In fact, I should have taken Soul Edge's remains and auctioned them off instead of disposing of them in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Maybe then, I would have been wealthy. I would have had something to my name!"

Without saying another word, Christine took a seat next to Thomas and placed a hand on his shoulder. She loved Thomas, and she knew he loved her back, but unless she could persuade him he was still worth something in her world, there was no way to truly make him happy.

* * *

From inside the dining room, Thibault heard a loud "Thump" upstairs.

"What in the world is that racket?" demanded Thibault, "Yoo-hoo, servant? I require assistance!"

The servant standing at the edge of the table approached Thibault and leaned in close.

"Can you please investigate that noise?" asked the Monseigneur, "I was promised a quiet evening!"

"Of course, Le Monseigneur," said the servant, "I will investigate at once"

"See that you do," said Thibault.

The servant headed through the double doors and into the grand foyer. From the ground floor, he examined the top of the stairs and noticed one of the rooms was lit.

" _Incroyable_ ," scoffed the servant, "I told the other servants they are not to enter Ms. Lemieux's room without permission."

The servant climbed the stairs and attempted to get a better view of inside the room.

"Henri?" said the servant, "Is that you? How many times must I remind you not to go sneaking about?"

There was no answer from the room.

"Stop whatever it is you are doing in there," ordered the servant, "Or I will be forced to inform Ms. Lemieux…"

Once the servant reached the top of the stairs, he peered inside the room. There was no one there, however, the window was open and a candle had been lit.

"Hello?" said the servant, looking around.

The servant approached the window, placing both hands on the sill, and looked down into the courtyard below. Suddenly, an unseen assailant placed a hand over his mouth and slit his throat.

* * *

Back in the dining hall, another loud "thump" could be heard, followed by a shatter.

"What is going on?" demanded Thibault, as he slammed his napkin down, "Are the servants having a party of their own upstairs, or what? I must see for myself what this infernal racket is!"

Thibault promptly stood up from the table and approached the foyer doors.

" _Mon cher_ ," said Marie-Hélène, "Are you sure it is wise to…"

"Woman," snapped Thibault, "What did I tell you before?"

"But this is not our house," the young woman insisted, "We shouldn't…"

"Know your place, wench!"

Thibault angrily stormed into the foyer and shut the doors behind him. He examined the large, empty room for a moment.

"Where are all the servants?" he asked himself, "Have they all…Oh my!"

Thibault turned his attention to the top of the staircase, where he saw the bloody corpse of the poor servant half-sticking out of the bedroom door. A cloaked, hooded figure hovered over him, holding a blood-stained knife…

* * *

Inside the lounge, Thomas and Christine continued their discussion. As they spoke, they did not notice a hooded man sneaking in through a door at the opposite end.

"Come," said Christine, "We really should get back."

"I know," said Thomas, standing up from the couch, "I'm terribly sorry for my behaviour tonight. I hope you can forgive me."

As the hooded man slowly approached Thomas and Christine, a bloodied maid came crawling through the door that he had left open. With her mouth full of blood, she had difficulty vocalizing words.

"It's okay, Thomas," said Christine, "I understand..."

Suddenly, the two heard a loud, high-pitched screech.

"What's going on?" said Thomas.

"My uncle's in trouble!" said Christine.

"Wait, that was a woman's scream…No?"

Christine shook her head.

"Thomas…Christine…" the dying maid had finally found her voice.

When Thomas and Christine turned to look, they saw that the hooded figure was now mere inches from them. He slashed at them with his sword, forcing them both to dive out of the way.

"Go!" ordered Thomas, "Get your uncle and aunt to safety! I'll deal with him!"

Christine ran through the door that led back to the dining room, leaving Thomas to fight the assailant.

"Great," though Thomas, sidestepping another attack, "If only I had a weapon…"

Thomas turned his attention to the nearby fireplace, in which an iron poker rested. As the assassin tried to slash Thomas again, the young man leapt over a nearby couch and grabbed a heavy cushion, which he used to shield himself from the blow.

"Christine certainly spared no expense on our furniture," thought Thomas, as he pushed the assailant back.

As the assailant stumbled backwards, Thomas ran to the fireplace and grabbed the poker, which he used to block the next few blows.

* * *

Meanwhile, Christine ran into the dining room and found Thibault gone and Marie-Hélène standing up, looking concerned.

"Where is my uncle?" demanded Christine, as she approached the young woman.

"The foyer," replied Marie-Hélène.

The foyer doors suddenly swung open, and a frightened Thibault entered the room, quickly closing them behind him.

" _Mon oncle_ ," said Christine, "What happened?"

"We must barricade this door," he yelled, "There is…"

The door suddenly swung open, knocking the Monseigneur down. The assailant entered the dining room and began making his way towards Christine. Reacting quickly, she grabbed the wine bottle off the table and hurled it at the assailant. Although she missed, the bottle struck the wall and shattered right next to the man's head, creating a distraction that allowed Christine to reach for the carving knife that rested on the table.

"RAAAGH!"

Christine charged for the man and slammed him into the wall, while stabbing him multiple times in the torso. Christine ended her assault once the man dropped his sword. Soon after, he fell to the floor, lifeless.

" _Mon dieu_!" exclaimed Thibault, "C-Christine, how…"

"Nevermind that," Christine said, as she collected the man's fallen sword, "We need to get you two to safety!"

Just then, a servant barged into the room, causing everyone to jump in panic.

"Apologies," said the servant, "But there are men in the house. They've already killed several servants. We…"

The servant looked around the dining room and saw the bloody mess made by Christine, causing him to turn ill.

"We know," said Christine, "We have to get my uncle and aunt to safety!"

"In that case," said the servant, "I know a place."

The servant escorted the three out of the dining room and through the foyer.

* * *

Back in the lounge, Thomas continued his battle with the assailant, albeit with great difficulty; the poker was a rather awkward substitute for his rapier. As the man attempted another slash, Thomas dodged the blow by hurling himself onto the nearby coffee table and rolling off of it.

While standing up, Thomas blocked another incoming blow. As the two men pressed their weapons firmly against each other, Thomas got a good look at the man's face; he was young, with long, stringy hair and strange markings adorning his face. The man uttered something to Thomas in a foreign language he did not recognize.

"What…Do…You…Want?" Thomas grunted.

Thomas kneed the man in the crotch and followed that up with a shoulder toss that left the man lying face-up on the floor. As the man reached for his fallen sword, Thomas plunged the poker into his chest, killing him.

"What the hell is going?" Thomas asked himself.

Thomas ran to the fallen maid who had saved his life, but she had already succumbed to the numerous stab wounds in her back. Thomas sighed and shook his head. Before he could rendez-vous with Christine, he would need to find a proper weapon.

* * *

The servant led Christine and her two relatives though multiple corridors to a safe room located in the east end of the mansion.

"Here," said the servant, "It's behind this shelf. Help me move it."

Christine and the servant worked together to push the heavy shelf, revealing a small, metal door in the process. Just then, another assailant appeared in the hallway.

"I'll take care of him," said Christine, brandishing her newfound weapon, "Just get that door open!"

"Right," said the servant.

Christine and the man charged for each other, the clash of metal echoing across the hallways.

"Could you please hurry it up?" demanded Thibault, "I have no intention of dying here tonight!"

"I'm trying," said the nervous servant, as he fumbled around with his keys, "There are many locks!"

"Try faster!" snapped Thibault.

As the servant struggled to open the door, Christine continued her fight with the hooded assailant. He rained blow after blow on her, constantly keeping her on her guard. While trying to slash Christine down, he inadvertently pinned her dress to the wall. Christine twirled, allowing the bottom half of the dress to tear and unravel, significantly improving her mobility.

"Ah," she said, "That's much better!"

The man dislodged his sword from the wall and tried to cut Christine down again, only this time, she stepped back and blocked low. With the man's chest exposed, she delivered a side-kick that knocked him back before slashing him across his torso. The man then collapsed to his knees before falling sideways to the floor.

"There," said the servant, "Got it!"

With the safe room door completely unlocked, Thibault pushed past both the servant and his own wife to open it himself.

"Finally," he muttered, pulling open the steel door.

To everyone's surprise, another assassin had been waiting inside. The man pulled out a dagger and pointed it straight at Thibault's throat, prompting him to raise his arms in surrender.

" _Sacré-bleu!_ " cried Thibault, "P-P-Please, you don't want me! I-I'm worth nothing to you!"

"Don't hurt him!" begged Christine.

A loud gunshot suddenly echoed throughout the hallway. The assailant dropped dead to the floor with a bullet wound in his throat. Further down the hallway, a familiar figure brandished a smoking pistol.

"Thomas?" said Christine.

"If only _all_ your dinner parties were this exciting," joked Thomas.


	3. The Fygul Cestemus

**Chapter 2:**

In the aftermath of the bloody assault, several hired soldiers arrived at the mansion and conducted a full sweep. They wrapped up every one of the dead bodies they found in cloth and dragged them out the front door. Christine and Thomas stood anxiously in the foyer, awaiting further information.

"How is your uncle doing?" asked Thomas.

"Shaken," replied Christine, "But fine. He and his wife are on the way back home as we speak."

"Good," said Thomas, "What about you?"

"I've been through worse," Christine chuckled, "No need to worry about me."

Just then, one of the mercenaries entered the room and approached the couple.

"Madame Lemieux," he said, "We have found no sign of any other intruders; only the four you encountered. It appears they entered the house from two different entry points on the second floor using grappling hooks."

"Anything of interest on them?" asked Thomas.

"Nothing that would help us identify the men or their motives."

"Alright," replied Christine, "Conduct another sweep of the house, just to be safe. Afterwards, station your men around the perimetre."

" _Oui, Madame_ ," said the soldier, before running off.

"What on Earth did those men want?" asked Thomas, "Whoever they were, they were more than robbers; they were professionals. An assassination attempt, perhaps?"

"Or perhaps," added Christine, "They were sent to retrieve something…"

"What do you…"

" _Viens_ ," Christine beckoned, "I have something to show you…"

Christine led Thomas to the attic, accessible via a secret entrance. Once she and Thomas reached upstairs, she approached an old wardrobe and slowly opened it.

"If this is what they were searching for," began Christine, "Then it is a good thing we kept it in the attic, which is well-hidden."

"What?" asked Thomas, "What is it they were looking for?"

Christine removed the necklace she had found in Sorrento years earlier and handed it to Thomas.

"This little trinket?" asked Thomas, "Yes, I remember it now…Right before we left that beach, you started searching through the pirates' corpses. You told me they had stolen something of value from you."

"They did," explained Christine, "The pirates had it confiscated from me when Vercci's men handed me over to them. I originally found it during my time in Sorrento with Edge Master."

"What?"

"In Sorrento, there was a little girl – No more than six or seven – Whom I tried to save while the city was being ransacked by the Ottomans, though she ended up saving me instead. During the siege, she led me to the basement of her house and showed me the necklace. She seemed convinced that the Ottoman soldiers were searching for it."

"A child, you say? What could she possibly have known?"

"I don't know, Thomas. Something about that whole invasion just felt wrong and I knew I had to take this thing out of the city!"

"Alright," Thomas began to pace around the attic, "Let's say the girl was right and the Ottomans really were after that necklace…What makes this one particular treasure so important? And why go to the extreme of launching a full-scale attack on a major city? Why not just send spies to retrieve it?"

"Because," said Christine, taking a seat on a nearby chair, "The Ottomans already had a siege planned against the Spanish Islands. My theory is: Someone paid or persuaded a small fleet to detach on the way to Spain and assault Sorrento, providing cover to search the city. Whoever was responsible then is surely responsible for the break-in tonight."

"Your theory makes sense, except that it implies that there is someone out there with enough money and power to sway an entire navy. A rather disturbing thought."

Thomas began making his way towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" asked Christine.

"I need to get to the library before closing time," replied Thomas, "I need to learn all I can about this blasted necklace, so that we don't wind up dead…Or worse."

Christine stood up from her chair and followed Thomas, but he stopped her.

"Don't even think about coming," he said, "I need you to stay here under guard. You'll be safe."

"But Thomas…"

"I'll be right back. I promise."

As Thomas bolted from the attic, Christine sighed and sat back down in the chair, examining the necklace carefully while tossing it about in her right hand. As Christine brought the necklace to her face for a closer look, she took a moment to observe its beauty; it was truly a work of art, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to put it on for the first time.

"Hmmm," she said, as she placed it around her neck.

Once the necklace was fastened on, Christine stood up and made her way to a nearby mirror, where she admired her reflection and smiled. Just then, a sharp pain shot through her head, like a blow from a club. Christine placed her hand on her forehead and groaned in agony.

* * *

 _Meanwhile_ :

Even for a library, the silence was eerie. Apart from the librarian, Thomas was the only living soul in the building. The massive bookshelves surrounding the table Thomas occupied felt like giant walls closing in on him. The candle that rested near him was his sole source of light. Bags formed under Thomas' eyes as he grew increasingly weary from studying.

"Nothing of interest in here," thought Thomas, slamming shut a textbook on Ottoman history, "There must be some sort of connection to all of this; the Ottomans, the attackers, that damned necklace…"

Thomas, surrounded by books ranging in subject from Ancient Rome to Ottoman politics, rubbed his eyes in frustration. In addition to the difficulty he was having figuring out the origin of the necklace, Thomas' French was not entirely perfect, making it difficult to understand the contents of most of the library's books.

"I should have brought a translator," lamented Thomas, "I thought by now I had a decent grasp of the language, but…"

" _Monsieur_ ," said the librarian, as she quietly approached him, "We are closing shortly."

Thomas jumped a little, as the librarian's voice was the first he had heard in over an hour.

"Oh," he said, "Sorry. I made a bit of a mess, didn't I? Please, allow me to clean it up."

The librarian nodded and walked away. Thomas sighed and shook his head.

* * *

Thomas left the library in a hurry, wanting to get home as quickly as he possibly could. He was not afraid for Christine – The mansion was well-protected by armed guards – He was afraid for his own life. The streets of Boulogne were abandoned at this hour of the night, and yet Thomas sensed he was being followed.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

As he glanced over to his right, Thomas could make out a dark figure standing in a nearby alleyway. Upon doing a double-take, Thomas saw that the figure had disappeared. Not wanting to take any chances, Thomas decided to confront whoever was following him. Taking a deep breath, Thomas placed his hand on his scabbard and slowly made his way towards the alley.

"What do you want from me?" asked Thomas, "Huh? Show yourself!"

Thomas heard a noise coming from behind and immediately drew his rapier. He swung it behind him, only to have it collide with an iron shield. Thomas turned around and saw a woman sporting an armoured chiton with matching gauntlets and sandals. She stood taller than most men, with an athletic build. She possessed long, reddish-brown hair tied in a braid and dark green eyes. Her left hand held up the shield that blocked Thomas' attack, while her right hand held up a Xiphos.

"Thomas Hunter," she spoke in a thick Greek accent, "I need to speak with you!"

"Speak with me?" demanded Thomas, "You're trying to kill me!"

Thomas thrust his rapier at the woman, forcing her to sidestep. She then used her sword to deflect the next few of Thomas' attacks.

"I don't want to kill you," she insisted, "I'm on your side!"

"Like hell you are!" spat Thomas.

The woman performed a backwards somersault to evade Thomas. While on one knee, the woman used both her sword and shield to block Thomas' incoming vertical slash. Thomas pressed down on her as hard as he could, but she pushed back, causing Thomas to stagger backwards into the wall of the building. With Thomas exposed, she brought her sword to his throat. Thomas had been beaten; any sudden move at this point would result in a fatal cut.

"Now," she said, "Can you drop your weapon so that we may have a civil discussion?"

Thomas swallowed hard and threw his rapier a considerable distance away. True to her word, the woman sheathed the sword and shield on her back.

"What is it you want, woman?" asked Thomas, "You better have a damn good reason for breaking into my…"

"My name is Kyria," she said, "And I had nothing to do with those men that broke into your home. What I do have, however, are answers."

"Then let me hear them."

"How familiar are you with Greek mythology?"

"I've worked a number of years in an antiques shop and have seen an astonishing number of artefacts come my way, but I don't presume to know everything. What does this have to do with…"

"Hephaestus, son of Zeus, and the Greek god of fire and forge, took Aphrodite as his bride. The union did not last, however, as Aphrodite began an affair with Ares, god of war, with whom she bore a child, Harmonia. Upon discovering the truth, Hephaestus sought to punish Aphrodite through her daughter. To that end, he forged her a necklace, then presented it to her as a gift on the day of her wedding. Little did she realize that the necklace was cursed; though the wearer is granted eternal life and beauty, it is at a terrible cost. That necklace has exchanged hands over the centuries, and now, it is in your wife's possession."

Thomas shook his head in disbelief.

"You mean to tell me that a cursed necklace belonging to a Greek god is sitting in my house, right now, as we speak?" he asked, "Given all I've been through in the past, nothing should surprise me anymore, but… _Really_?"

"Yes, _really_ ," replied Kyria, straight-faced, "And what's more is that the longer you hold it, the greater the misfortune you bring upon yourselves. I pray to the gods you nor you wife have ever put it on."

"No," assured Thomas, "Not once have I ever seen her wear it."

"Good," said Kyria, "There are men willing to kill for that necklace, you know. Powerful, ruthless men. In the wrong hands, it can be a dangerous weapon. You and your wife are no longer safe."

"About that; what do you know about the assailants that invaded our home?"

Kyria folded her arms.

"The men that attacked you were assassins sent by the Heretical Order of the Fygul Cestemus," she replied, "My companions and I have been tracking them for years."

"Who?" asked Thomas.

"They are a dangerous cult who serve the will of Ares, or 'Palgaea' as they call him. For centuries, Ares sought to depose his father, Zeus, as king of Olympus and plunge the world into anarchy and chaos. For his actions, he was exiled from Olympus. In order to exact his revenge, he seeks a weapon of great power. One that exists, not in the heavens, but right here on Earth."

Thomas' eyes widened.

"Soul Edge?" he said, "But I destroyed it! I ripped that bloody sword in half myself and then disposed of its remains in the Tyrrehnian Sea! Unless…You don't suppose there is a way to revive it, do you?"

"That is exactly what the Fygul Cestemus seek," explained Kyria, "The necklace is the key..."

"How exactly?"

"I will explain later," Kyria began to back away from Thomas, "We've wasted enough time already. Go home to your wife, Thomas. I will gather my companions, then we will visit you shortly to collect the necklace. It must be destroyed!"

"Wait a minute," began Thomas, "I…"

As Kyria ran off, Thomas stared, dumbfounded, into the distance. That was a substantial amount of information for one man to take in in a single night, and he knew that this was just the tip of the iceberg…


	4. Departure

**Chapter 3:**

"Christine!" yelled Thomas, as he entered the front door of the mansion, "Christine, are you there?"

Christine entered the foyer, donning a lace necktie to conceal Harmonia's Necklace.

"I'm here, Thomas," she said, "What did you learn?"

"At the library," he began, "I met this woman...I swear I've never encountered her before, yet she somehow knew who I was. She explained everything to me. The men who attacked us, the necklace, even Soul Edge – They are all connected!"

"What? How?"

"That is the Necklace of Harmonia, forged by the Greek god Hephaestus. I know it sounds insane, but hear me out…Hephaestus gifted the necklace to his daughter, Harmonia on her wedding day. The necklace allegedly grants eternal youth to whomever wears it, but it also brings grave misfortune..."

"M-Misfortune, you say?"

Christine slowly backed away from Thomas, her right hand resting lightly upon the lace tie.

"Yes," said Thomas, "Why? What is it?"

"Thomas," she whispered, "It won't come off…"

"What won't come off?"

Christine carefully removed her necktie, revealing the Necklace of Harmonia underneath. Thomas stepped back in shock.

"You put it on?" he demanded.

"I was curious," Christine replied, tears in her eyes, "And now I can't take it off! Oh God, I don't know how, but it's hurting me!"

"I-I-It can be removed," said Thomas, nervously, "W-We'll cut it off using a-a-a dagger or something!"

"Don't you think I've tried?" said Christine, "Nothing works! I can already feel its dark energies sinking into my skin…"

Without saying another word, Thomas embraced his distressed wife. At that moment, a servant entered through the front door.

"Apologies, _monsieur_ ," he said, "Some people are here to see you."

"We'll, er, be right out," said Thomas, "Just give us a moment."

The servant nodded and slowly closed the door.

"The woman I spoke of," began Thomas, "She's arrived. Maybe she will know what to do."

* * *

Minutes later, Thomas and Christine stepped outside the property to find Kyria alongside her two companions. One was a young woman, no older than twenty, with pale skin and jet black hair styled into a wavy bob and held in place with a small headband. She wore a blue vest with a white skirt and iron sandals. She wielded a spear along with a short sword.

The other was a man, tall and muscular, wearing a chiton like Kyria, but with one of his pectorals exposed. He was extremely handsome, possessing olive skin, a chiseled jaw and neatly-combed dark brown hair. His weapon of choice was the Kopis.

"Good to see you again," said Kyria, "Is that your wife?"

"Yes," replied Thomas, "Kyria, meet Christine. Christine, Kyria."

"A pleasure," said Kyria, "Thomas, these are my comrades: The woman to my left is my student, Pallene. This will be her first mission. The man to my right is Sarpedon. We owe him a lot for his bravery; much of what we know about the Fygul Cestemus is due to his espionage."

"Sarpedon?" asked Thomas, "I recognize that name! Is it not the name of the Lycian king from Homer's _Iliad_?"

"Indeed," said Sarpedon, "And for good reason; I am his direct descendant. That in turn, makes me a son of Zeus."

"So you're a demi-god?" asked Christine, dumbfounded.

"Do not listen to this man's lies," chuckled Kyria, "He has been making that claim for as long as anyone of us could remember."

"Watch yourself, woman," warned Sarpedon, "My skills alone are proof of my divine heritage. If you do not believe me, perhaps you and I should hold a contest to see if your so-called 'Amazonian prowess' can match my ability!"

"Wait," began Thomas, "Kyria, you're an Amazon?"

"The last of my kind," said Kyria, "Most of the Amazonian race died centuries ago following the destruction of Themyscira. I am among the last of those who can trace their lineage back to the Amazonian Queen, Aegea."

"Incredible," said Thomas, "I-I mean, uh, the part about you being an Amazon, not, er, the dying race part…"

Christine folded her arms and chuckled at Thomas.

"Enough pleasantries," began Kyria, "Where is the necklace? We have a long journey ahead of us and…"

"About that," said Thomas, rubbing the back of his neck, "I, er, well, you see…"

"I put it on," Christine said.

"What?" snapped Pallene, "You fool!"

"Hold, Pallene," said Kyria, "Mockery will not ease their situation. How long ago did you put it on?"

"I don't know," replied Christine, "While Thomas was out. Two hours ago, maybe?"

"Alright," said Kyria, "Then there is ample time to save you."

"Save her from what?" demanded Thomas.

"The horrible fate that befalls anyone who wears the necklace," explained Kyria, "If we leave now, we can get to…"

"Wait," said Christine, "I'm not going anywhere! I did not agree to this voyage!"

"I don't understand," said Thomas, "Can't you just remove it?"

"The necklace is bound to her now," said Sarpedon, "Once it bonds with a person, there is no known way to remove it. Not without killing the person anyway."

"Indeed," continued Kyria, "The only way to safely remove it would be to bring you to the forge of Hephaestus. Only in its fires can the necklace be destroyed."

"The forge of Hephaestus?" began Thomas, "What is that?"

"Eons ago," began Sarpedon, "Hephaestus fell from the sky and landed in Lemnos. There, he was rescued by the island's inhabitants."

"In exchange for their kindness," continued Pallene, "Hephaestus built a mighty forge, granting the mortals of that island the opportunity to craft some of the most powerful weapons known to mankind. This proved to be a terrible mistake."

"Using the forge's sacred fire," said Kyria, "The mortals forged what would eventually come to be known as Soul Edge."

"Jesus," said Thomas, "And if the cult find this forge?"

"They will use it to reconstruct Soul Edge," said Kyria, "Harmonia's necklace, a vessel of Hephaestus' vengeance and wrath, is the necessary component to awaken the evil in the sword. Once Soul Edge is rebuilt, the cult will hand it over to Ares, ending all life, as we know it, on Earth."

"That is why," began Pallene, "You must join us on our quest. You will never be safe for as long as you wear it!"

"I don't know what to say," said Christine, "One minute, life was great and I had everything I wanted – A beautiful house, a loving husband, a stress-free life – And now… _O, Seigneur_!"

Christine buried her face in her hands, prompting Thomas to move in close and embrace her.

"Christine," he assured, "I promise, I will be there every step of the journey. There is no way I would ever let you out of my sight!"

"Thomas…" whispered Christine, staring into his eyes.

"You may join us if you wish, Thomas," began Kyria, "But do not be a burden. We cannot guarantee your safety."

"You underestimate me," Thomas smirked, "After all, I did find Soul Edge, did I not?"

Kyria chuckled and shook her head.

"If you insist," she said, "We depart for Venice tomorrow morning."

"Venice?" asked Christine.

"Yes," explained Kyria, "We have a contact there willing to help us. He will provide us with a boat to cross the Adriatic Sea. We will see you tomorrow. Please be ready."

As the Greeks walked away, Thomas rubbed his chin.

"Hm," he said, "Well, you did tell me you always wanted to see Venice."

"Not funny, Thomas," said Christine, rolling her eyes.


	5. Greed

**Chapter 4:**

For the next few days, Thomas, Christine, and their new allies journeyed through France on horseback, heading east towards Venice. The Spanish horses that Kyria provided were strong and fast, but even so, they were looking at over a week of travel.

Life on the road was quite an adjustment for Thomas and Christine, who had been living a lavish lifestyle since their previous journey ended nearly two years ago. The pair once again donned their outfits from their last quest; a blue coat-and-vest combination for Thomas and a red cropped jacket with black tights for Christine.

After hours of sprinting through the French countryside, the group found themselves in the heart of a thick forest, where the horses slowed down to rest. The group typically used opportunities like this to converse. Kyria rode her horse right next to Christine's.

"How are you holding up?" she asked the young woman.

"I get occasional flare-ups," replied Christine, "The headaches come and ago. Do you have any idea what this necklace is doing to me?"

"I don't know," replied Kyria, "It's still far too early to determine your fate."

"Well, what of the original owner, Harmonia? What became of her?"

"She and her mortal husband, Cadmus, were transformed into reptiles - Divine retribution for Cadmus' slaying of a dragon. After that, the necklace was passed onto Harmonia's daughter, Semele. She was smitten by Zeus, for openly doubting him."

"And then?"

"After that, the details are sketchy. Numerous myths and legends have been written about the necklace – The story of Oedipus and Jocasta come to mind – But most are purely fictional and thus cannot be taken seriously."

"What happens if the Fygul Cestemus find me?"

"They will not. We will see to it."

"I know, but…"

"They will use you as a vessel to channel its energies; you and the necklace have formed a symbiotic bond. Without you, the necklace will be useless and vice-versa."

"And you are certain it can be removed once we get to the forge?"

"Absolutely. Once we reach Lemnos, the necklace will guide us to the forge where we can use its fires to destroy it for good."

Christine took a deep breath and sighed. A brief silence followed.

"I understand you are nervous," said Kyria, "This is a lot for anyone to take in…"

"Tell me about it," said Christine, "Like many in France, I was raised Roman Catholic…To discover that Greek mythology is as real as you and I is Earth-shattering to me."

"I understand completely," said Kyria, "After all, the gods seldom show their faces anymore to mankind."

"What happened to them? If they really do exist, then why hide?"

"In the centuries after Soul Edge was forged, mankind grew far more powerful than they ever anticipated. The gods began to fear an invasion as chaos enveloped the Earth. And so, they permanently retreated into the abyss, choosing only to observe us from a safe distance."

"But some still worship them?"

"During the reign of Constantine, Christianity had become the official religion for the entire Byzantine Empire, which included Greece. However, some Greeks continued to practice Hellenism in secret. To this day, small pockets of us continue to thrive. Those of us who are chosen to serve the gods directly, like my companions and I, are referred to as 'Holy Warriors'."

"Have the gods ever spoken to you?"

"Yes. Hephaestus spoke to me in a dream once; he told me about your husband and all he had done. It is how I knew where to find you. Hephaestus is, understandably, ashamed of Soul Edge's existence and willing to do all he can to ensure its destruction. That is why, once we separate you from that necklace, we will destroy his forge to prevent it from ever being used again by mankind."

"I see."

* * *

As Christine and Kyria discussed, Thomas and Sarpedon rode together further up the path.

"I must confess," began Thomas, "Homer's epics are among my all-time favorite literature, although, there is something that has always bothered me. As a descendent of one its characters, perhaps you can answer this for me…"

"Go ahead," said Sarpedon.

"Your ancestor," said Thomas, "He was the King of Lycia, right?"

"Yes," replied Sarpedon.

"Yet, he fought on the side of Troy, despite having no quarrel with the Greeks. Why sacrifice so much just to get involved in a petty conflict?"

"'Petty conflict'? Pfft! Shows how little you know about the war. My ancestor fought bravely in the name of his almighty father to stand against those vengeful, war-mongering heretics, Menelaus and Agamemnon."

Thomas scratched his head, baffled by Sarpedon's answer.

"Not quite the response I was expecting," he said, "What does the Trojan War have to do with appeasing the gods?"

"Everything," began Sarpedon, "Zeus granted Paris the divine right to wed the most beautiful woman in the world – Helen of Sparta – In exchange for his judgement. When Paris invoked that right, the Achaeans pursued him, instead of resigning to fate. For that, they deserved punishment."

"Forgive for being blunt, but…Are you mad?"

Sarpedon glared at Thomas.

"I fail to see how adultery is okay," Thomas said, "Even if it is permitted by a god. Menelaus and Agamemnon may have been war-mongers, but I do believe their anger at Troy was justified."

"Watch your tongue, boy," warned Sarpedon, "My ancestor died fighting for Ilios, yet you soil his memory by defending those clowns!"

"Clearly, you view the Trojan War as some sort of religious conflict. Yet, where was Zeus when your ancestor - His own _son_ \- Fought and died at the hands of Patroklos? It's rather convenient how the gods help start wars, then stand by and watch as we wipe each other out. Admit it, we were nothing but their pawns! No wonder humanity turned its back on them..."

Sarpedon growled and placed his hand on his scabbard. Pallene immediately intervened.

"Enough!" she said, getting in between their horses, "We are on a mission! You will put all of your differences aside, understand?"

Thomas and Sarpedon sneered at each other before moving apart.

"Unbelievable," Kyria muttered to Christine, "Not even three days into our voyage, and Sarpedon nearly beheads someone. What am I to do with him?"

"I must apologize on behalf of my husband," said Christine, "I don't know what's gotten into him."

"It's alright," said Kyria, "Sarpedon's always had a bad temper. That, and we are all quite exhausted. There is an inn not far from here. We shall…"

All of a sudden, more than a dozen men leapt out from the trees surrounding the path. Most wore green ninja robes, though some were shirtless or wore vests instead. They wielded katanas, daggers and giant shurikens.

"Bandits!" cried Kyria, "We must flee!"

Kyria and the others whipped their horses, forcing them to move quickly. However, as the gang made it further down the path, a spike trap activated. Thomas, who was at the front of the group, pulled back on the reigns in an attempt to stop the horse. The horse stopped inches away from the trap and Thomas fell backwards to the ground.

"ACK!" he yelled, "Damnit!"

The others stopped behind him and disembarked. They immediately drew their weapons, but were quickly surrounded by the bandits, who had arrows pointed at them.

"Who are these people?" asked Christine.

"The Manjitou?" suggested Thomas.

"No," said Kyria, "Someone else…"

Just then, a man stepped out from behind the crowd. He was tall and muscular, possessing spiky, jet black hair combed back into the shape of a cone and a light scruffy beard. He appeared to be of mixed Asian and European heritage and wore an open blue vest and green pants.

"Kyria," he said.

"Greed?" said Kyria, "Damnit, we had an agreement!"

"You know this man?" asked Thomas.

"We've crossed paths before," she explained, "He and his band of thieves stalk the countryside in search of victims. There is nothing he won't steal and nothing he won't do to get it."

"We helped eliminate a rival bandit group operating nearby," said Sarpedon, "In exchange for safe passage through these woods."

"A deal I had no intention of honouring," laughed Greed, "You see, I figured you three had come in search of something valuable and I want in."

Greed observed the gang for a few seconds.

"Well, hello," he said, eyeing Christine, "What have we here?"

Greed drew a small kunai and swiftly approached Christine. He placed the tip of the blade between her throat and the necklace in an attempt to slice it off.

"STOP!" yelled Thomas.

Greed turned to sneer at Thomas.

"Why waste time on mere trinkets?" asked Kyria, "When we have an even bigger prize for you to steal?"

Intrigued, Greed removed the kunai from Christine's neck.

"Go on," he said.

"You're right," continued Kyria, "We did come searching for a treasure; a cache of gold coins lies somewhere in these woods, far more valuable than that necklace. In exchange for letting us go, we can help you find it."

"Careful, sir," said one of the bandits, "She could be lying!"

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" asked Greed, "How can I be sure this treasure is real, huh?"

"You have my word," assured Kyria, "But, if you still don't believe me, then take us along with you. If you don't find what you're looking, you can just rob us of our goods instead."

"Hmmm," pondered Greed, "Yes, like an insurance policy."

"What will it be?" asked Kyria, "Kill us and rob us, or wait to claim the bigger prize…The choice is yours."

"Alright," said Greed, "Show us where this treasure is located!"

As the group began to mobilize, Greed drew his kunai once again and pointed it at Kyria's face.

"But don't screw around with us," he warned, "Or I'll make sure your death is slow, understood?"

Maintaining a straight face, Kyria nodded

"Good," said Greed, "Alright, let's get moving!"

* * *

For the next few hours, Kyria led both her group and Greed's bandits to the supposed location of the "treasure". Thomas approached Kyria and walked alongside her.

"I really hope you know what you're doing," he whispered, "Because if this doesn't work, we'll all be killed."

"You can relax, Thomas," said Kyria, "I got this."

"You assured me we'd be safe on our voyage!"

"I told you, I have a plan. Now, calm down."

Greed suddenly appeared behind Thomas, startling him.

"Well now," he said, "Someone is not willing to part with the treasure, I see?"

"You can all the damn treasure you want," said Thomas, "Just let us go!"

"I told you," began Greed, "I can't let you go – Not until I confirm it's real."

Greed then stepped in front of Thomas and examined the young man.

"I take it," he began, "You're afraid of death?"

"Aren't we all?" asked Thomas.

"Heheh," chuckled Greed, "Not your lady-friend here. Look at her eyes; not an ounce of fear…"

As Greed spoke, he waved his kunai in front of Kyria, trying to get a reaction.

"I can say the same for you," laughed Sarpedon, from further behind.

"Who asked you?" snapped Greed.

"Just an observation," continued Sarpedon, "When was the last time you encountered an elderly highwayman? Thievery is a dangerous profession, my friend, and the lifespan of a thief is a short one. All it takes is one botched robbery and it's over."

Greed swallowed hard and chuckled nervously.

"We're here," said Kyria.

The path ended at a river running through the forest. A small building with an attached waterwheel sat next to the river.

" _This_ is the great treasure you spoke of?" demanded Greed, "You lying, deceiving…"

"The treasure is inside the watermill," explained Kyria, "You see, the mill belonged to Thomas and Christine's father before he passed away. Now it is their property. Of course, they care not for the mill, but rather, the gold coins he reportedly stashed inside of it. Thus, they hired us to escort them to it."

"Um, yes," Christine played along with Kyria's story, "My, er, 'brother' and I ask that you do not, uh, plunder the treasure that is rightfully ours…"

"Well, too bad for you," taunted Greed, "You two! Go inside and get me my treasure, now!"

Two of Greed's bandits nodded and ran inside the watermill. Almost immediately upon entering, they found a large stone chest.

"Those sons-of-bitches were telling the truth," said one of the bandits.

"Come on," said the other, "Let's take it outside!"

Even with all of their strength, the two bandits were unable to hoist the chest.

"It's too heavy," noted the first bandit.

"That just means it's _really_ full," chuckled the other, "Let's head back out."

The two bandits ran back outside and approached Greed.

"Uh," said the first, "It's a bit heavy…We're gonna need some help."

Greed turned to the other bandits and frowned at them.

"Useless!" he snapped, "All of you, useless! Get another three guys in there, damnit!"

Three additional men entered the mill.

"You might want to back away," Kyria whispered to Thomas and Christine.

The two nodded and began to step back.

"Alright," said one of the bandits from inside the mill, "On the count of three: 1…2…"

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion that rocked the mill. The impact shook the ground, causing all of the bandits standing near the mill to nearly fall down.

"NOW!" ordered Kyria.

Thomas and Christine each drew their rapiers and stabbed a bandit next to them. Kyria and her companions drew their own weapons and began taking on the others.

"WHAT?" yelled Greed, covering his ears, "GODDAMNIT! KILL THEM NOW!"

The bandits drew their weapons and fought the group of travelers, but with their numbers reduced from a dozen to just five, they were no longer at full strength.

"Grrr…" growled Greed.

Drawing both of his kunai, he flipped into the air and landed next to Thomas, surprising the young man.

" _Prepare to defend yourself!_ " he announced.

Greed swung both of his kunai, prompting Thomas to block with his rapier. Greed followed up with a leg sweep that knocked Thomas to the ground. Thomas rolled backwards to dodge Greed's follow-up.

"You lying bastards!" he yelled, "I'm going to enjoy cutting you to shreds!"

* * *

Christine, meanwhile, fought a female bandit armed with a shuriken. The young woman pulled the giant star from her back and hurled it at Christine, forcing her to sidestep it.

"Look out, Christine!" Kyria yelled, while fighting a bandit of her own.

"Huh?" asked Christine.

Looking behind her, Christine saw that the massive shuriken was making its way back to its owner, much like a boomerang. Christine threw herself face down to avoid being cut by it. The young bandit smiled as she caught the shuriken, then moved in for the kill…

* * *

"Why won't you die?" demanded Greed, as he unleashed a fury of strikes.

Thomas remained on the defensive, desperately trying to block Greed's blows. The bandit leader was fast and cunning, but was allowing his rage to get the better of him.

"Come on, Thomas," he thought to himself, "You can do this! I just have to find an opening…"

Greed leapt into the air and attempted to perform a downward slash with both of his kunai. Thomas saw an opportunity to strike back; he twirled backwards, causing Greed to not only miss, but also to stumble. Thomas followed-up with a strike that left a gash Greed's shoulder.

"ACK!" yelled Greed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Christine managed to roll out of the way of the impending attack. She placed her rapier against the bandit's heels and sliced deep into them, causing the woman to scream and fall to her knees. As Christine stood up, the bandit reached for her shuriken once more, forcing Christine to stab her through the chest and finish her off.

With only three bandits remaining alongside Greed, hey had no choice but to retreat.

"Come on!" ordered Greed, "Let's go! RUN!"

Greed and the three bandits leapt into the nearby treetops and disappeared. Greed turned to face the group one last time before leaving:

"This isn't over," he warned, "Not by a longshot. Do you hear me? You will pay for this!"

Once Greed was gone, the group gathered together.

"That was more excitement than I'd hoped," said Thomas, "Especially considering we're only on the first leg of our trip."

"Unfortunately," began Kyria, "Bandit encounters are all too common in these parts. Greed's organization happens to be among the better-funded and more dangerous."

"We made a deal with Greed for safe passage through the forest," began Pallene, "But we knew he was going to betray us, so we planted a chest in the watermill and rigged it with an explosive compound, hoping to catch him off-guard."

"Wait," began Thomas, "You suspected Greed's betrayal? And yet, you _still_ took us through this part of the woods?"

"This is the fastest known route across France," said Kyria, "So, yes."

"But we nearly died!" whined Thomas, "What if your exploding chest trick didn't work?"

"But it did," Kyria said, flatly.

"Argh!" Thomas groaned in frustration.

"Relax, Thomas," said Christine, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Greed and his men won't bother us anymore. Let's just focus on getting to Venice."

"Christine's right," said Kyria, "The inn I mentioned is not far ahead. We will spend the night there, then resume our voyage on horseback tomorrow morning."

As the group set off, Thomas shook his head and sighed.


	6. Riot Act

**Chapter 5:**

After over a week of traveling, the group finally made it to Venice. The heart of the Venetian Republic, Venice was a city of traders and merchants. As the city was situated on an island, the group was forced to abandon their horses on the shore, and travel by ferry.

"Wow," said Christine, as she observed her surroundings, " _C'est magique_! It's even more beautiful in person than in artwork!"

"Enjoy it while you can," said Kyria, "We won't be here for much longer. Once we speak to my contact, we will have our boat out of here."

"Is there no way we can rest here for the night?" asked Thomas.

"Thomas," began Kyria, "For someone whose wife is affixed with a cursed object, I would imagine there be a greater sense of urgency."

"It's not that," said Thomas, "Evening is fast approaching, and I'd rather we not sail by night."

"We don't have much choice," explained Pallene, "The Fygul Cestemus are tracking our movements. If we remain in one place for too long, we risk being captured."

"Agreed," said Sarpedon, "Besides, sailing by night is ideal. We will have the cover of darkness."

"Fine," said Thomas, "If you insist."

The group boarded separate gondolas, with Thomas and Christine taking one and the Greeks taking the other. The gondolas made their way east across the northern section of the Grand Canal. Thomas and Christine took in the sights during their voyage, but their perception quickly changed as they neared their destination.

"Oh my," said Thomas, "This area has certainly seen better days."

The buildings lining the canal in this sector of the city were all in a dilapidated state, with crumbling walls and chipping paint. Many of the storefronts were vandalized, bearing broken windows and graffiti. Beggars and prostitutes lined the walkways, all trying to earn a living.

"This is the side of Venice they leave out in literature," said Kyria.

In the distance, an explosion could be heard, followed by screaming.

"My word!" exclaimed Thomas.

"A riot," noted Sarpedon, "Happens all too often in slums like this."

"There's nothing we can do about it," said Kyria, "We must focus on the task at hand."

The gondoliers parked just outside of a dilapidated building. The words _Dampierre Co._ were written crudely on a wooden plank that hung loosely over the front entrance. The group disembarked the gondolas and stepped onto the walkway.

"This is where your contact's office is?" asked Christine.

"I'm afraid so," said Kyria, "He's upstairs. Let's go."

The main floor consisted of a lounge occupied by several gloomy-looking people, many of whom were consuming opiates or enjoying the company of women. Thomas and Christine tried hard to ignore the patrons they made their way to a staircase at the back of the room.

Upon reaching the second floor, Kyria knocked on the first door to their left.

"If you're with the police," said a voice from the other side of the door, "Then I've already told you, I have no idea how that bakery got set on fire! You hear me? NO IDEA!"

"It's me," said Kyria, "Open this door!"

"Oh," the voice said, flatly, " _One minuuuuute_ …"

The door swung open, revealing a man standing near the entrance. He ushered two scantily-clad women of out the room.

"GET OUT!" yelled the man, "Get out! NOW!"

Upon seeing Kyria and her companions, he immediately regained composure.

"Ahem," he said, "Come right on in."

The man sported a comically long moustache and wore a black-and-white striped leotard with a green cropped jacket over it. A top hat and an assortment of jewelry completed his attire.

"Welcome," he proclaimed, "To the offices of Lord Geo Dampierre! Please, have a seat!"

Dampierre approached his desk near the window and violently cleared it of all junk before taking a seat. The only other place to sit in the tiny room was a dingy old couch, which Kyria and the others declined to sit on.

"You know why we are here," said Kyria.

"Hmmm," said Dampierre, rubbing his chin, "You're here to collect 'tribute', I presume? No, no, no, I already paid up this month…No, you're here with an urgent message from her majesty, right? Ho, ho, don't be ridiculous, Dampierre! Or, perhaps…You're here to KILL ME!"

Dampierre leapt onto his desk and began kicking the air.

"I should warn you," he said, "I'm quite proficient in over 13 styles of Kung…Wooooaaaah!"

Dampierre slipped and fell back onto his chair. Without saying a word, Sarpedon approached the desk and slammed both of his hands down on it, frightening Dampierre.

"Enough games!" he spat, "We came for your boat, now where is it?"

"Eeeek!" squealed Dampierre, "Alright, alright! No need to get physical. Le Bello is more than happy to surrender his vessel to you, but some, er, 'complications' have arisen."

"Complications?" demanded Pallene.

"Yes," began Dampierre, "You see, I am positively _swimming_ in debt, and now the authorities have seized the very ship you need to cross the Adriatic."

"Ugh," moaned Kyria, "You can't be serious!"

"Your Uncle Dampierre recently sold some items to a friend named Cepheus," Dampierre explained, "Nothing much, just an old shield and some gemstones. Today was the day Cepheus was to pay me in full, but some 'unexpected' events unfolded…"

"The riots?" asked Sarpedon.

"YES!" exclaimed Dampierre, "You're quite the intelligent little baboon, aren't you? You see, his shop sits at the centre of it all and with all the looting and pillaging those mongrels are doing, I stand to lose both my stuff _and_ the money I was promised. You must get them back!"

Kyria pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Kyria," said Pallene, "We don't have much choice. If we don't find his items, we'll never obtain passage to Greece."

"I know," moaned Kyria, "I just hope this doesn't turn into some wild goose chase."

"Apologies, Kyria," said Dampierre, "But without Cepheus, Le Bello can't help you here."

As Dampierre spoke, Thomas examined an ornate sword, which hung from the side wall on a plaque. He reached out to feel the hilt.

"DON'T TOUCH!" snapped Dampierre, waving his arms frantically, "Do you have any idea how valuable that is? The notorious child-killer, Sir James Tyrell, personally entrusted it to me after his knighting!"

"Tyrell?" asked Thomas, "Wasn't he executed sixty years ago? With all due respect, you can't possibly be that old…"

"Ah," said Dampierre, wagging his finger, "A true gentleman never reveals his age. Though Le Bello is more than willing to divulge his secret to staying youthful in exchange for this lovely lady!"

Dampierre extended his hand to Christine.

"M-Me?" said Christine, pointing to herself.

"Yes, you!" said Dampierre, "I know quite a few men who'd pay handsomely for your, er, 'services'…"

Thomas, red with rage, opened his mouth to speak, but Christine stopped him. With a smile on her face, she calmly approached Dampierre, then, without warning, slapped him across the face, causing him to comically spin around.

"I'm his wife!" she snapped, " _Maudit_ _cochon_!"

"Heh," chuckled Kyria, "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that. Come, we've wasted enough time already."

As the group left the office, Dampierre rubbed his cheek and glared at them through his window.

"Go ahead," he said, menacingly, "Joke at my expense! But in the end, Le Bello always gets the last laugh. Always…"

* * *

The group made their way deeper into the district, where Cepheus' shop was located. More explosions and gunshots could be heard as the gang navigated the chaos. Civilians looted stores and clashed with soldiers sent to contain the riot.

"It's escalating," noted Kyria, as she and the others took cover.

"I know," said Thomas, "This could easily spread to the entire city!"

"Something doesn't feel right about this," noted Christine.

"What do you mean, Christine?" asked Kyria.

"I don't know," replied Christine, "The timing, the location; it's too…"

All of a sudden, an armed civilian came charging towards the gang.

"RAAAAGH!" he belted.

Kyria used her shield to deflect his attack before following up with a blow to the head that knocked him out.

"Jesus!" said Thomas.

"Let's avoid civilian bloodshed if possible," ordered Kyria, "Engage only if there are no other options!"

The group moved deeper into the riot zone. The central plaza was in ruins as a result of civilians firebombing the stores.

"There!" exclaimed Thomas, "Is that it?"

A store, labeled _Antiquariato_ was visible at the other end of the plaza. However, their passage was blocked by the sudden appearance of a large group of rioters. Thomas and the others drew their weapons in preparation.

"Not my idea of a holiday to Venice," remarked Thomas.

"Not now, Thomas!" snapped Christine.

Thomas successfully disarmed the man he was fighting, forcing him to flee. With all of her strength, Kyria used her shield to lift a man over her head and toss him to the floor. Suddenly, a number of gunshots rang, forcing the group to duck in cover.

"Is anyone hit?" asked Sarpedon.

"No," replied Thomas, "All good!"

The group looked down an alley and saw the two shooters. They dropped their rifles and charged the group with swords. Kyria tossed her shield at one of them, knocking him out. The other man continued charging, but Pallene hurled her spear at him, impaling through his shoulder and into a wall. She then calmly approached him.

"Run," she warned, "Or you will receive no mercy from me…"

The man sobbed in pain as she removed the weapon from his shoulder. Now free, the man ran for his life.

"Damnit, Pallene!" snapped Kyria, "That was excessive!"

"That man was coming to kill you," said Pallene, "I did what I had to! Besides, he is alive, is he not?"

"Indeed," Kyria said, coldly.

Just then, more rioters entered the fray, along with soldiers. The scene quickly degraded into a three-way battle between civilians, law enforcement, and the main group. Amidst the chaos, Thomas heard a little girl's voice coming from inside Cepheus' pawn shop.

" _Dove_ _è_ _Cefeo_?" she cried.

Her cries were accompanied by the grunts of two older men.

" _Ragazza Stupida_!" said one of the men, " _Vieni con noi_!"

Thomas bolted into the shop, which was partially ablaze. Most of the items on display were either stolen or damaged. Thomas followed the noise all the way to the storage room in the back.

" _Vieni_ … _Con_ … _Noi_!" the voice repeated.

Upon entering, Thomas saw two Italian soldiers struggling to apprehend a little girl. She appeared to be around 8 or 9 with red hair and a blue dress.

Thomas leapt onto one of the soldier's back and tried to wrestle him to the floor. The other soldier let go of the girl and drew a pistol, which he aimed at Thomas, though he was unable to get a clear shot.

" _Fretta_!" demanded the other soldier, while struggling to get Thomas off of him, " _Sparare_!"

With the little girl now free from the soldiers' grasp, she bit the gunman in the leg just as he was about to pull the trigger. A small bloodstain appeared through his white leggings.

"AAAARGH!" yelled the man, firing off his gun.

The distraction caused him to miss Thomas and hit the other man, killing him instantly. Thomas fell to the floor along with the soldier's corpse.

" _Puttana_!" yelled the gunman, as he pistol-whipped the child.

Enraged, Thomas stood up and tackled the man into a supply crate. He punched him twice in the face, causing his helmet to fly off. He then slammed the back of his head into the crate, knocking him out.

"Are you alright, child?" asked Thomas.

The little girl had a small cut above her eye and was filthy, but was otherwise in good health. She said nothing and slowly backed away from Thomas in fear. At that moment, the rest of the group entered the shop.

"Jesus, Thomas," said Christine, placing her hands over her mouth.

"That was careless," scolded Kyria, "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I know," said Thomas, "But they were hurting the poor child! I had to…"

Kyria looked over and saw the child, who was still frightened.

"Allow me," said Christine, "After my experiences in Sorrento, I studied some Italian."

Christine approached the child and knelt down so she was eye-level with her.

"Are you okay?" she asked the child, " _Stai bene_?"

"My master, Cefeo, is gone," said the girl, "The soldiers took him!"

"Shhh," said Christine, "It's okay. We will find him. But first, we must take you to a safe place. Come with us, miss…"

"Valeria," said the girl, "My name is Valeria."

"Okay. Do you have any family we can bring you to in the mean time?"

"No. My mother is gone and my father hasn't come home in two years. Cefeo is all I have. Please, find him!"

The two conversed in Italian for a short while. Thomas, unable to understand their discussion, approached Christine and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It seems Cepheus has been arrested," said Christine, "The soldiers are making no effort to discriminate between rioters and civilians caught in the crossfire. What's worse, he had Dampierre's treasures on him when he was taken."

"Well," began Kyria, "That's rather inconvenient."

"Why would he even have the treasures with him?" asked Pallene, "Why aren't they in the shop?"

"It matters not," began Thomas, "We have no choice but to break him out. We need those treasures and I sure as hell am not leaving this child alone! Where is Cepheus now?"

"If I had to guess," said Kyria, "He's at the Doge's Palace."

"Where the Doge of Venice conducts his business," elaborated Sarpedon, "It is also home to the city's prison."

"What are we waiting for, then?" asked Thomas, "Let's go!"

As soon as the group left the store, they were greeted by a line of rifles pointed at their faces. The men holding the rifles were not Italian soldiers; they wore steel armor, like knights, but without any flag or emblem. Their leader stepped out from behind the others.

"Kyria," he said, removing his helmet, "It's been a while…"


	7. The Leads

**Chapter 6:**

The man leading the other knights was young, between sixteen and eighteen years of age. He sported slick, black hair and a small goatee.

"Johan Dürer," Kyria said with a smile, "My, you've grown."

"And you're just as beautiful as ever," he said, getting on one knee.

He grabbed Kyria's hand and kissed it. As the men lowered their weapons, Thomas and Christine felt a great deal of relief; their leader's apparent friendship with Kyria meant they were on the same side.

"You two know each other?" asked Thomas.

"Yes," said Kyria, "We met years ago while I was on a mission in Konstanz, pursuing a dangerous fugitive. As a child, Johan was already proficient with a sword. He was my guide for much of my quest there."

"Since then," continued Johan, "I have followed in Ms. Kyria's footsteps and taken to mercenary work."

"But you're so young," marveled Christine.

"Do not let my age fool you," said Johan, "I command respect, the same way any soldier would."

"What brings you to Venice?" asked Kyria.

"We were sent here by King Adalwolf von Krone," replied Johan, "A number of artefacts were stolen from the Kingdom of Wolfkrone, including the family crest and crown jewels belonging to Wolfkrone's original founder. Rather than send soldiers, and risk an international incident, the king hired us."

"Wait," said Thomas, "Those are the treasures Dampierre asked us to find!"

"Indeed," said Johan, "It seems you've been caught up in one of Dampierre's schemes. The man is nothing more than a con artist and a thief. He is known to sell stolen goods, then hire others to re-steal the items, allowing him to continue profiting off of them."

"So, that bastard deceived us?" asked Thomas, "Damn him!"

"The treasures are currently in the possession of the shopkeeper," began Kyria, "A man by the name of Cepheus. Unfortunately, he was arrested and taken to the Doge's Palace. We were just on our way to break him out."

"Kyria," began Sarpedon, "A thought has occurred to me: Dampierre could have been lying about his boat been seized. If he discovers that mercenaries are here to arrest him, he might flee Venice! We should head for the docks instead…"

"But the treasures," said Pallene, "Johan could use our help retrieving them."

"Not to mention the girl," added Thomas, pointing at Valeria, "We can't leave her caretaker to rot in prison like that!"

"If I may," said Johan, "I can have two of my men escort her out of the city to safety, while I personally aid you on your quest to save Cepheus. We'll focus on getting Dampierre afterwards."

"Johan," said Kyria, placing her hand on his shoulder, "We truly appreciate your help."

"After all the times you saved me as a young lad," he began, "It's the least I can do. Now, let's get moving. We have gondolas that can get you where you need to go!"

* * *

With the sun now beginning to set, the group, along with Johan and his men, made their way towards San Marco District, where the Doge's palace was located. The group had been split up into a "fleet" of gondolas, which made its way down the Grand Canal. Around them, rioters could be seen clashing with officers, along with civilians entering their homes or fleeing for their lives.

"It looks like the rioting has spread to San Marco," noted Johan, "Fortunately, the Doge is out of town and the palace will likely have been evacuated of all officials."

"But there will still be guards to contend with," added Kyria, "We best use the cover of the riot as much as we can."

As Thomas observed his surroundings, a feeling of uncertainty overcame him. From the nearby rooftops and alleyways, shadowy figures watched the group's every move.

"We are here," said Johan.

The Doge's Palace was a stunning, white limestone building located at the south end of the San Marco district. The group parked their gondolas at the edge of the canal, then disembarked before entering the building.

"Something's not right," noted Thomas, "Where is everyone?"

The group looked around as they entered the building. They were met with no resistance. In fact, the building was eerily quiet. Not far from the entrance lay three corpses of Italian soldiers who had their throats slit.

"What in God's name?" demanded Johan, "Must've been…You there! STOP!"

A man sporting golden locks and a purple vest was visible at the far end of the room. Upon being spotted, he bolted.

"After him!" ordered Johan.

"We'll head him off," said one of Johan's men.

Johan nodded as the group split up. They followed the panicked man down the hallway, but he was fast. Fortunately, some of Johan's men intercepted him at the next corner. When the man tried to turn back, he ran straight into Johan Dürer, who grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

"You're one of Dampierre's goons, aren't you?" demanded Johan, "Why did you kill those guards? Answer me!"

"I dunno what you're talking 'bout," said the man, "Please, jus' lemme go!"

Johan slammed the man into the wall again.

"I'm not playing games," he warned.

"Dampierre sent us 'ere to cause some mischief," the man sobbed, "Told us 'e wanted a full-scale riot by sundown, 'e did! 'e never told me to kill no one!"

"So," began Christine, "Dampierre started the riot? But why?"

"I don't bloody know," the man cried, "I was just doing me job, is all!"

"Wait," began Johan, "If you didn't kill those guards, then who did?"

"The men in the black robes," sobbed the man, "The ones with them strange markings on their faces! That's all I know, I swears!"

Kyria stared at Johan in shock.

"The Fygul Cestemus," she said, "They're here…"

"They must have tracked us down," said Thomas.

Johan let go of the man, allowing him to run away.

"Who are they?" asked Johan.

"Dangerous men," replied Kyria, "They are here to kill us."

"Christine isn't safe here," said Sarpedon, "We need to protect the necklace at all costs! I will take her out of the city while you continue searching for Cepheus!"

Sarpedon held his hand out to Christine, but she hesitated to take it.

"I…I…" she began.

"No," said Kyria, "We are safer together, as a group. We will watch over her."

Sarpedon frowned.

"Fine," he said, "We'll have it your way."

The group continued to push deeper into the palace in search of the prison. Eventually, they arrived outside, in the palace's courtyard.

"We have to make our way to the other side," said Johan, pointing upwards, "The prison is just up there, at the top floor."

"Upstairs?" asked Thomas, "Typically, I'd expect a dungeon to be underground…"

"That's why they call it _I Piombi_ ," explained Johan, "Or, 'The Leads'. It is because of the lead roof…"

A gunshot suddenly whizzed past his face.

"Jesus!" exclaimed Thomas.

Through the windows of the palace surrounding the square courtyard, several Fygul snipers could be seen.

"Take cover!" ordered Johan.

The group sought cover behind the pillars that lined the courtyard. Several of Johan's men were hit, but most survived.

"Ready the rifles!" yelled Johan.

Johan's men drew rifles and fired upon the cultists in retaliation. Several of them were struck, causing them to fall from the windows to the concrete below. Both Johan's men and the cultists reloaded their weapons as quickly as possible.

"Ready?" yelled Johan, "Fire!"

Johan's men fired again, with some hitting their mark and many missing. The back-and-forth went on for several minutes.

"We can't stay here," said Thomas, "We have to push forward!"

"Go," said one of Johan's men, "We'll distract them as much as we can!

"Come on," said Johan to the main group, "Let's go!"

As soon as the cultists finished firing another volley of shots, the main six abandoned their post and made a dash for the other end of the courtyard, while Johan's men fired back. They eventually reached a main hall with a gold-lined ceiling and massive arched windows, through which the last bit of daylight shone through. There, they were greeted by several more cultists, this time armed with swords.

"I hope you're ready," said Kyria, drawing her sword.

"As ready as I'll ever be," lamented Thomas, as he drew his own.

The group charged towards the cultists and fought back against their assault. During the ensuing battle, explosions could be heard outside.

"What was that?" asked Thomas, as he cut down a cultist.

"The Fygul Cestemus must be firebombing the palace," replied Kyria, "Either to distract us or flush us out."

Once all the cultists in the room had been taken care of, the group reassembled near the room's exit. Another explosion could be heard, followed by some slight shaking.

"This is madness!" barked Sarpedon, "We should be getting the hell out of this place, not trying to bust out some shopkeeper I've never even met! It's too dangerous!"

"I'm not going anywhere without my artefacts," said Johan.

"And I'm not going anywhere without Johan," added Kyria, "We promised him help, and now we are here. Anyone who wishes to leave is free to do so; I'm staying."

"I stand by you, Kyria," said Pallene.

"I suppose Christine and I don't have much choice," said Thomas.

Sarpedon growled and uttered a curse under his breath. The group continued to press forward, navigating a series of long hallways.

"The stairs are just over…" began Johan, " _Mein Gott!_ "

Several gunshots could be heard coming from outside. A volley of shots struck the windows next to them, causing them to shatter. The group panicked as they searched for cover.

"It's not safe near the windows!" yelled Kyria.

"We have to get out of this hallway," said Thomas.

As he began to run, Thomas tripped over some rubble and fell to the floor. The group ran towards his location, only to be rocked by another explosion, this time, right over their heads.

"WATCH OUT!" yelled Johan.

A large chunk of the ceiling and wall came crashing down, seemingly crushing Thomas. Once the noise died down, Christine ran towards the wall of debris and began pounding on it.

"NO!" she sobbed, "THOMAS! It cannot be…"

Kyria placed a hand on Christine's shoulder.

"I'm sure he's fine," she said, "But there is no way to get to him now. We must move forward."

"But Thomas…" began Christine.

"We will meet up afterwards," said Kyria, "But for now, we must get out of this hallway!"

And so, the group continued onward without Thomas.

* * *

"Dear me," said Thomas, spitting out dust.

As Kyria predicted, Thomas survived the ordeal, having managed to crawl away from the debris in time. As he stood up, he realized he had been separated from the group and was now alone.

"Great," he muttered, "I have to find some way to reconnect with them…"

Thomas fled the hallway and returned to the previous room, only to be swarmed by more sword-wielding cultists.

"Nope," said Thomas, "Not going by here!"

Thomas darted towards an open door that led upstairs. Upon reaching the top of the staircase, Thomas turned the corner and took cover behind a large statue. As the cultists pursued Thomas into the hallway, one of them began shouting commands; the others responded by splitting up into two groups.

"Damnit," thought Thomas, "They'll find me for sure!"

After frantically looking around, Thomas found an escape; an open window directly across from him. Seeing no other option, Thomas climbed out of the window and onto the ledge directly under it.

"Don't look down," Thomas whispered to himself, "Don't look down…"

The narrow ledge Thomas stood upon was three stories above the courtyard he and his companions had previously run across. In the distance, the sounds of gunshots and explosions could still be heard. Thomas tried desperately to block out all distractions as he sidled his way to the other end of the building.

"Woah!"

Thomas' right foot slipped, causing him to momentarily lose balance. After glancing down, he took a deep breath and continued to move.

"Was this seriously the best idea I could come up with?" lamented Thomas, "Ugh!"

Several Fygul cultists had heard Thomas' grunts and came running to the window to find him sidling his way across. They stuck their heads and rifles out of the window while shouting commands at him in their language.

"Now what?" Thomas wondered.

To the right of Thomas, a giant banner hung from the roof down the building's façade. Seeing no other option, Thomas drew his rapier and sighed. He plunged his sword into the flag and leapt from the ledge.

"WOOOOAH!" he screamed, "Bad ideaaaaaaa!"

The cultists at the window stared in shock as Thomas slid his way his down to one of the windows below him. He then kicked forward, flying feet first through the window and shattering the glass.

Two Fygul cultists had been conversing in the hallway when Thomas came crashing through. He struck one of the cultists, sending him flying into the opposite wall and knocking him out. As Thomas stood up and recovered from the impact, the other cultist stared in shock at what had just transpired.

"Sorry," said Thomas, dusting himself off, "Didn't mean to drop in…"

After a brief pause, the cultist drew a sword. Thomas responded by drawing his own rapier and deflecting the man's attack. The man attempted a horizontal swing, getting his sword stuck in the wall. Thomas then stabbed the man in the chest, killing him.

"I have to keep moving," he said.

As Thomas navigated deeper into the building, he came across a three-way battle between the guards, the prisoners and the cultists. Having no clue what Cepheus looked like, Thomas called his name out a few times but received no response. Given how dangerous the situation was, Thomas felt best not to intervene and keep moving.

After finding another way upstairs, Thomas finally discovered _I_ _Piombi_. The cells boasted solid iron doors and iron-barred windows. Some of the open cells still had prisoners in them, many of whom were too weak or too frightened to escape. Other cells were vacant, allowing Thomas to catch a glimpse of the filthy conditions inside. Enemy resistance was non-existent on this floor.

"Cepheus?" whispered Thomas, "Cepheus!"

"Over here," whispered a voice.

Thomas ran to the source of the voice. A balding, bearded middle-aged man stared at Thomas through the iron bars of his cell.

"You're Cepheus?" asked Thomas.

"Yes," replied the man, "You'll need keys to open the door. Take them from that man over there."

Thomas looked to his left and saw the corpse of a guard lying nearby. After searching his body, he returned to the cell door and unlocked it.

"You weren't let out?" asked Thomas.

"I'm afraid not," said Cepheus, "When the riots started, people came in and started opening the doors. Before they could get to me, those robed men appeared and scared them out."

Cepheus stepped out of his cell and examined his surroundings.

"This riot is far worse than I initially thought," he noted, "We must escape!"

"It's okay," assured Thomas, "That's what I'm here for."

"Thank the gods," said Cepheus, "I owe you one, Mr…"

"Hunter. Thomas Hunter. Before we go, I'm first going to need the items you bought from Dampierre; a crest, and some jewels."

"Of course. They were confiscated from me by the guards and placed into storage along with other looted goods. They barely had any time to go through the items before the chaos reached this place, so they're probably still there. I can show you where it's located."

"Please."

Cepheus led Thomas to another room containing numerous shelves and tables, each filled with items. Thomas and Cepheus began searching through the shelves together.

"How could I have been so stupid?" asked Cepheus, "I should have known better!"

"What do you mean?" asked Thomas.

"Dampierre…I had concerns that the artefacts he sold me were stolen, but he gave me his word. I should have trusted my gut. When the riots started, I grew fearful that a mob was coming for me, so I placed the items in a bag and fled, hoping to dispose of them somewhere I would not be connected back to them. Unfortunately, I was caught by a soldier, who saw me carrying goods and mistook me for a looter."

"It's okay now. We're getting you out of here, understand?"

"The worst part of all this? There's a little girl back at my shop. I told her to wait in the store room when I left and now…"

"It's alright, we took care of her!"

"Y-You did?"

"She was being taken in by two officers. My friends and I stopped them and now she's being taken to safety."

Cepheus immediately turned pale.

"Is something wrong?" asked Thomas.

"It's nothing," assured the shopkeeper, "We need to get out of here, now! Forget the items, just go!"

"But I need…"

Cepheus grabbed Thomas by the arm and tried to drag him out of the storage room. Unfortunately, as soon as they stepped out, they were met by gun-wielding cultists.

"What's going on?" demanded Thomas, "This was a set-up, wasn't it?"

One of the cultists smacked Thomas in the head with his rifle, knocking him to the floor. Dazed, Thomas placed a hand on his left temple and felt blood.

"Ack!" he yelped.

From behind the cultists, two men stepped forward. One of them was an older man, with long, white hair and matching beard. The other man was much younger, near Thomas' age, sporting thick brown hair styled to resemble devil horns. Each man bore unique facial markings and highly elaborate robes, indicating a higher rank.

"My, my," said the older man, "Thomas Hunter, we meet at last. The Great Palgaea told us much about you, yet you know nothing of us. Allow me to introduce ourselves; I am Valnykuluk, Grand Priest of the Fygul Cestemus. The young gentleman at my side is Kunpaetku, my greatest disciple."

"You'll never get the necklace," spat Thomas, "Not on my life!"

"It is too late," said Kunpaetku, "We have your friends right where we want them. Soon, the necklace will be ours and the Great Palgaea will finally be restored!"

"So it was Dampierre who led you to us?" asked Thomas.

"Why, yes," replied Valnykuluk, "He was even kind enough to start that riot, providing us cover while we navigated the city. As payment, he requested that we bring _you_ back alive. He has big plans for you, evidently."

"That is why we kept Cepheus in his cell," began Kunpaetku, "We knew it was only a matter of time before you came for him. He certainly played his part well."

Cepheus lowered his head, clearly ashamed of his role in the cult's plan.

"You won't get away with this!" snapped Thomas, "I'll never let you take me _or_ my wife, understand? You'll never…"

The cultists kept their rifles trained on Thomas while Kunpaetku drew a damp rag and made his way over to Thomas. He bent down placed the rag directly over Thomas' mouth, causing the young man to slowly lose consciousness.

"It's done," said Kunpaetku.

"Good," said Valnykuluk, "Men, get him out of here!"

As the cultists dragged Thomas' unconscious body out of the room, Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku approached Cepheus.

"As promised," began Valnykuluk, "We will have the soldiers release the child. We thank you for your cooperation."

"They had already saved her!" spat Cepheus, "My betrayal was for nothing!"

"A pity," chuckled Kunpaetku, "Now, we have business to attend to. Stay out of our way, or we will come for the girl again, understood?"

With his head still hanging low, Cepheus slowly walked past the smug priests and out of the room.

"Come," said Valnykuluk, "Let us enjoy the show…"


	8. Confrontation

**Chapter 7:**

Thomas awoke sometime later to the sound of a cheering crowd. As he stood up, he looked around and saw that he was on a stone platform sitting on the water. The platform was surrounded on all sides by a golden bars, caging Thomas inside. Thomas peered through the cage and saw that he was in some kind of enormous grotto. Several boats were parked at the cave's entrance.

The ceiling was extremely high and covered with stalactites while a walkway lined one side of the cave. A large structure, elegantly adorned with golden columns and colourful banners, was positioned on top of this walkway. The structure contained several rows of pews upon which hundreds of spectators sat, including Valnykuluk, Kunpaetku, and several other cultists.

"Wh-Where am I?" asked Thomas.

"Ladies and gentlemen," boomed Dampierre, "You see before you: THOMAS HUNTERRRR!"

The crowd erupted in applause. Thomas looked ahead and saw Dampierre addressing the crowd from the walkway at the foot of the fortress.

"Hey!" snapped Thomas, "What's going on here? Where am I?"

Dampierre ignored him and continued entertaining the crowd.

"The almighty vanquisher of Soul Edge seeks a worthy opponent," continued Dampierre, "Who here will rise to the challenge and conquer the legendary hero in glorious combat?"

"Oh God," thought Thomas, "This is a colosseum…And I'm a competitor!"

Thomas ran to the bars and gripped them tightly. He stuck his head through and tried once more to get Dampierre's attention.

"Damnit, Dampierre!" cried Thomas, "I refuse to be a part of your game!"

Dampierre spun around to face Thomas with a finger placed against his lips.

"Shhh," he said, "Don't spoil this for me! The crowd absolutely _adores_ you! You're a legend!"

"I don't know who you think I am, but I am not some hero or some warrior! I found Soul Edge through sheer luck, nothing more!"

"Of course I know that…But the crowd doesn't have to! Just play along for me, will you Tommy-boy?"

"Is that the reason you sold us out? To have me in your side-show, huh?"

Dampierre spun back to face the crowd again.

"I ask again," he said to them, "Is there anyone _brave_ enough to take on Mr. Hunter?"

Dampierre place his hand against his ear and pretended to listen.

"Hmmm," he said, "What's that? Why, yes! It appears we have found someone! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a tantalizing round of applause to our challenger, the Mighty WILHEEEEELM!"

Two Fygul cultists standing on the walkway began turning a large crank. As they did so, an elevator descended from the cave's ceiling onto the arena. An enormous man stepped off of the elevator and approached the center of the ring, brandishing an axe that was almost Thomas' height.

The man was nearly seven feet tall, with his entire body was covered with armour. Only his eyes and parts of his mouth were visible through small slits in his helmet. The top of his helmet was adorned with two large ox horns. The man appeared human, yet he snarled and grunted like a wild animal.

"Dear God," said Thomas.

Thomas slowly drew his rapier and began to back away from Wilhelm.

"This is it, folks!" announced Dampierre, "The battle of the century! Only one will emerge victorious, so start placing your bets!"

"How the hell am I going to get out of this one?" wondered Thomas.

"READY?" yelled Dampierre, "FIGHT!"

Wilhelm raised his axe in the air and cheered before viciously charging Thomas. Thomas leapt out of the way, causing Wilhelm to crash into the iron bars. The audience responded with a chorus of "Ooooh."

Wilhelm spun around and tried slamming his axe down, though Thomas managed to sidestep the blow. Thomas ran up to Wilhelm and tried to impale him with his rapier, but Wilhelm's armour absorbed the blow. Wilhelm chuckled and dislodged his axe from the ground. He swung it horizontally this time, forcing Thomas to somersault under it. Wilhelm grunted angrily as Thomas ran to the other end of the cage.

"It seems the champion's going to have to do better than that!" laughed Dampierre.

Thomas wondered how it was even possible to kill a man so heavily armoured. His only hope now was to escape.

"Come and get me!" taunted Thomas, as he removed his blue coat.

Wilhelm snorted and charged at Thomas once more. This time, Thomas jumped out of the way at the very last second while throwing his coat onto Wilhelm's face. Wilhelm crashed head-first into the cage, momentarily disorienting him. Blinded, Wilhelm screamed in confusion as he struggled to remove the coat from his face.

"Now's my chance," thought Thomas.

Thomas ran to the corner and attempted to climb the iron bars, though it was no easy task.

"There's no getting away from this fight," chuckled Dampierre.

Thomas had barely managed to climb a few feet before Wilhelm succeeded in removing in the coat. He then swung his axe at Thomas, forcing the young man to push himself off of the bars and onto Wilhelm himself.

"Got you!" he said.

Thomas climbed onto Wilhelm's back, enraging him. As Wilhelm began thrashing about, Thomas tried to remove the warrior's helmet, but instead fell off and hit the ground. Wilhelm laughed as he raised his axe high and slammed it down, prompting Thomas to roll out of the way.

As Thomas stood up, he almost couldn't believe his eyes; his companions suddenly appeared among the audience members. A small sense of relief overcame Thomas even though his predicament was far from over. It wasn't long before Dampierre became aware of the intruders.

"How did they get here?" he demanded, "They're going to ruin the show! GET RID OF THEM!"

The cultists in the crowd drew their weapons and assaulted the group. Fortunately, Johan and his men were there provide assistance. The colosseum quickly descended into chaos as the fighting intensified and the civilians in the crowd began to panic and disperse.

From the arena, Thomas could hear an exchange of gunshots, accompanied by the clashing of swords. Despite his concern for his companions, he had a more pressing matter to attend to. After dodging another of Wilhelm's blows, Thomas was kicked to the ground. While lying face-up, he could see the elevator Wilhelm used to descend into the arena.

"Of course!" said Thomas.

Thomas stood back up and ran to the edge of the cage.

"KYRIA!" he shouted, dodging another blow, "THE ROPE! CUT THE ROPE!"

Kyria, having just cut down a cultist stared at Thomas, confused.

"THE ROPE!" repeated Thomas, "ATTACHED TO THE CRANK! CUT IT!"

Kyria looked around and saw the crank he was referring to; it was the one that the cultists had used to lower Wilhelm into the arena. Kyria pushed her way through the crowd and reached the walkway below, where she was intercepted by two cultists.

"Damnit," she muttered, raising both of her sword and shield in defense.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the cage, Thomas led Wilhelm to the centre of the platform by backing up slowly.

"Alright," said Thomas, "Just a bit closer…Oh, No!"

Thomas began to panic upon seeing that Kyria had not yet reached the rope. Thomas now stood in the centre of the ring next to an angry Wilhelm.

"Come on, Kyria!" he pleaded, ducking under another swing.

Wilhelm used the handle of his axe to strike Thomas in the back, completely winding him and sending him to the floor. Wilhelm raised his axe in preparation for the finishing blow…

* * *

While fighting off one of the cultists with her sword, Kyria used her shield to smack the other in the face, knocking him into the surrounding water. The other cultist kicked her in the gut, causing her to fall on her back. From the ground, Kyria kept her sword firmly pressed up against his.

"May the gods guide my hand," she prayed.

Using her free hand, Kyria threw her shield at the crank like a discus. The flying shield struck the rope, severing it. This caused the massive elevator to descend rapidly onto the arena. Wilhelm halted his execution and glanced upwards before being crushed by the heavy object. The impact was so powerful that it shook the arena and caused all four of the cage walls to come crashing down. Fortunately, Thomas had managed to roll out of harm's way.

"Ugh," said Thomas, rubbing his head, "Let's hope gladiatorial combat stays dead for good this time…"

Thomas stood up and collected his rapier. He approached Wilhelm, who was still barely alive, despite the massive elevator crushing his spine. The wounded man lay face-down on the stone platform, whimpering and moaning like an injured puppy while slowly raising his head to look at Thomas. Thomas pointed his rapier at Wilhelm's face and plunged it through the slit in his helmet, piercing his eye. Wilhelm let out one final inhuman scream before collapsing dead.

"This is not going well," said Kunpaetku, "Valnykuluk, I recommend getting out while we still can!"

"Grrr," growled Valnykuluk, "Very well. Let's go!"

Amidst the chaos, the two priests snuck out of the colosseum, along with an entourage of cultists.

Thomas decided to join his friends at the stands. One of the fallen cage walls created a convenient bridge that connected Thomas to the walkway. There, he saw Dampierre attempting to sneak away from the action.

"You!" said Thomas, pointing his rapier, "Where do you think you're going?"

Dampierre stopped in his tracks and spun around.

"Are you speaking to Le Bello?" he asked.

"You're damn right I am," replied Thomas, "You have a lot to answer for!"

"Oh, come now," laughed Dampierre, "Surely, we can work something out. How about we call a truce, hm? Put 'er there!"

Dampierre held out his hand as if to offer a handshake. As Thomas approached Dampierre, a small dagger popped out from inside the man's sleeve.

"OOPS!" he cried.

Dampierre charged at Thomas in a comical manner and delivered blow after blow, forcing him to block. Dampierre followed that up with a failed corkscrew kick that sent both he and Thomas to the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow!" cried Dampierre, standing back up, "STUPID!"

Once Thomas got back up, he ran to Dampierre and prepared to deliver another blow. Dampierre cowered in fear, holding both hands above his face. This prompted Thomas to stop his assault out of pity.

"Fell for it!" laughed Dampierre, "Got you right where I want you!"

Dampierre slid under Thomas' legs. As Thomas looked around, confused, Dampierre kicked Thomas in the rear end, sending him flying forward.

"GENIUS!" he cried.

Frustrated, Thomas stood back up and tried to cut down Dampierre, though the latter blocked with his daggers. Dampierre retaliated by tilting his head back and sneezing directly into Thomas' face. As Thomas clutched his face and staggered backwards, Dampierre followed up with a Russian kick-dance that knocked him further back with each hit.

"Le Bello the _Magnificent_!" laughed Dampierre.

"Enough of this!" snapped Thomas.

As Dampierre continued his kick-dance, Thomas slide-kicked Dampierre, tripping him.

"YOU COWAAAAARD!" he screamed, as he fell backwards.

Dampierre attempted to stand back up, but Thomas impaled him through the shoulder, pinning him down.

"AAAAARRGH!" Dampierre screamed, "Please, have mercy on Le Bello!"

"Give me one good reason I should spare you!" said Thomas.

"Remember that offer I made you?" Dampierre groaned, "The one for your wife? It still stands…"

Thomas twisted his rapier, causing Dampierre to scream further.

"Thomas!" said Christine.

Thomas turned around and saw Christine and the others approach him. She ran to Thomas and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Thomas!" she cried, "I thought you were dead!"

"So did I," said Thomas, "I had no clue if I'd ever see you again!"

"It's unfortunate Dampierre got away," said Johan, "But at least my men and I were able to help restore some peace to the city."

"Dampierre didn't get away," said Thomas, "He's right…"

As Thomas turned around, he saw Dampierre had mysteriously vanished, leaving behind only the rapier and a small bloodstain. Thomas looked around in confusion.

"I swear to God," said Thomas, "He was here a moment ago! Where could he…"

"It's alright, Thomas," said Kyria, "Forget it. We're just glad you're okay. We managed to kill most of the Fygul Cestemus here, though some got away, including Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku."

"They escaped via a hidden exit," said Sarpedon, "I pursued them as they ran, but they had collapsed the tunnel, blocking me off. If only I knew where it led to."

"Where are we, anyways?" asked Thomas, "How did you even find me?"

"With _his_ help," replied Kyria.

Just then, Cepheus entered the scene.

"Forgive me," he said, "They told me to wait until the coast was clear."

"You?" said Thomas, "But you betrayed me!"

"No I didn't," pleaded Cepheus, "Please understand! The cultists had bribed two soldiers to find and capture Valeria. They threatened to kill her unless I cooperated! When I found out you had already saved her, I tried to undo my mistake, but it was too late."

"My word," said Thomas, "I-I had no idea..."

"We were attempting to find another way to reconnect with you," explained Johan, "That's when we ran into Cepheus. He returned the artefacts to me, then told us about what had happened to you."

"So where exactly did they take me?" asked Thomas, looking around.

"This colosseum," said Cepheus, "Is inside of a cave on the fringes of San Servolo Island. I've heard stories for years of a place where the rich gathered to indulge in raw combat, but I never thought them to be true. Not until today, anyway."

"We were able to find its exact location by raiding Dampierre's office," said Johan, "He had been planning this little 'show' for some time, it seems."

"When I found out you were still possibly alive," began Christine, "I literally cried with joy. I just had to save you!"

"It's okay now, Christine," said Thomas, "Thank you. Every one of you."

"Listen," said Kyria, "We cannot linger here, or we risk the Fygul Cestemus regrouping. Dampierre's boat is docked right outside this cave. We will use it to sail to Greece."

"We'll take care of Cepheus and Valeria," said Johan, "We will bring them to a safe place far from this city."

"Of course," said Thomas.

"Just a minute," said Cepheus, as he placed a hand on Thomas' shoulder, "Thomas, I appreciate all that you've done. Things haven't been easy since my good friend, Lord Rosso – Valeria's father – Disappeared without a trace two years ago. It is good people like you who keep my spirits up."

"Don't mention it," said Thomas, "I just have one question; at the prison, when I set you free, I heard you say: 'Thank the _gods_ '. Does that mean you…?"

"Yes, Thomas," laughed Cepheus, "I am a Hellenist, like your companions here. Growing up in Ottoman-ruled Greece, my family was never popular due to their unorthodox religious beliefs. We have been forced out of homes at one time or another."

"How awful!" said Thomas,

"Indeed," said Cepheus, "It is the reality we sometimes face. Listen, I understand this all new to you, this business with the gods. You may not have faith, but just know that what you are doing…It is a very important thing, and we are all counting on you. I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

"And I wish you luck on your ventures," said Thomas.

"Alright then," said Sarpedon, "We best get a move on. There is little time to waste."

And so, the group loaded whatever supplies they had onto Dampierre's boat and sailed away from the grotto. As they left the harbour, they waved goodbye at Cepheus, Johan, and all of the mercenaries who had helped them on their quest.

Their next destination: Greece.


	9. All Hands on Deck

**Chapter 8:**

For the next few days, the group sailed southeastward across the Adriatic Sea on the caravel they obtained from Dampierre. The chaos of Venice and the Fygul Cestemus seemed far behind now as the group set their sights forward, on Lemnos. The weather was good and the wind was favourable, though they still had a long trip ahead of them.

It was now their third night of travelling by sea; every evening, Sarpedon would tirelessly commandeer the boat under the guise of darkness. The moon and stars provided the only source of light, apart from a small lamp on the ship's deck.

"How are you feeling, Christine?" asked Thomas.

Christine had been standing at the port end, staring out at the black sea in deep thought. As Thomas approached her, she turned to face him.

"I'm fine," she replied, "Just exhausted."

"That necklace is draining you," said Thomas, "I can see it in your face. You're turning pale."

Christine sighed heavily.

"You know," she began, "When our last adventure ended, I told myself I never wanted to step foot on a boat ever again. All I wanted was for us to have a normal life together."

"Our quest is nearing its end," assured Thomas, "Another week or so of sailing and…"

"And then what? We reach Lemnos and everything goes back to normal? Thomas, we don't know for sure that the necklace will guide us to the forge, or if it we can even take it off there!"

"Kyria said…"

Christine backed away from Thomas and stared out at the sea again.

"You've trusted everything Kyria said from the moment you met her," said Christine, "How did you know she wasn't luring you into some trap?"

"Well," said Thomas, "Er, I..."

"The truth is, your faith in her has left you blinded. First, she made a deal with Greed, and he betrayed us. Then, she made a deal with Dampierre and he betrayed us. That's _twice_ now she nearly got us killed and still you trust her? The woman who worships the same god who built this cursed necklace?"

As she spoke, Christine tugged at her necklace in a futile attempt to remove it.

"Stop it, Christine!" snapped Thomas, "You can't take it off, remember?"

Christine stopped and took a deep breath.

"I know you don't mean anything you said," Thomas continued, "It's that damned necklace talking."

"Thomas," began Christine, "Are you happy with me?"

"Of course I am!" said Thomas, "What kind of…"

"I see it in your eyes," elaborated Christine, "You don't feel at home with me. You yearn to escape. I don't blame you, Thomas, considering the way my family treats you. I'd like to believe the reason you were so quick to trust Kyria was the same reason you set off to find Soul Edge in the first place; the allure of adventure."

"Perhaps I was a little bored at home," admitted Thomas, "But that does not mean I am no longer happy with you. The reason I trusted Kyria is because she offered answers, and, more importantly, an escape from that cursed object. Believe me when I say that this is no dream come true for me; it's a curse!"

Tears formed in Christine's eyes as she and Thomas embraced for a moment.

"Christine," he whispered, "The burden you carry is something I would never wish upon anyone, let alone my own wife. I once nearly handed Soul Edge to a band of pirates just to save you. I know not what's in store for us, but saving you again is worth the risk!"

Christine sighed as she turned her head and stared out into the darkness.

"I don't feel well," she finally spoke, "I'm going to rest for the night. We will speak tomorrow morning."

"Of course," said Thomas, "Good night, Christine."

Thomas shook his head as he watched Christine head below decks. Just then, Kyria approached him.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," lied Thomas, "I just need some time alone to gather my thoughts."

"I understand," said Kyria, "I know how hard this must be for you. Do not hesitate to speak to me if you have any concerns."

"I know," said Thomas, "Thanks."

As Kyria made her way back to the other end of the ship, she passed by Sarpedon, who was still navigating.

"Sarpedon," said Kyria, "I highly recommend you get some sleep."

"You underestimate me, woman," laughed Sarpedon, "I never tire! I could go all night if I wanted to!"

"I know," said Kyria, rolling her eyes, "You know it's not for that. It's dark out and it's getting impossible to see where you are going."

"Yes, yes," said Sarpedon, "Don't you think I am aware of that? I'll call it a night once I move us away from this current. The last thing I'd want is for us to drift off-course while we rest."

"Of course," said Kyria.

Kyria then approached Pallene, who had been standing at the starboard end of the ship, watching Kyria and Thomas discuss.

"I cannot imagine how difficult this ordeal is for her," Pallene remarked.

"She's stronger than she looks," noted Kyria, "But yes, it is definitely rough for the both of them. Hopefully, once our quest is over, they will find the strength to put all of this ugliness behind them."

"Agreed…"

The two women stared out at the darkness momentarily.

"Kyria," began Pallene, "Do you think, once our quest is done, that we will finally get the chance to return to Athens? It seems like forever since we last stepped on Greek soil."

Kyria looked downwards in thought.

"I don't know," she replied, "Destroying the necklace will not stop the Fygul Cestemus for good. There is still much work to be done…And you still have much to learn."

"I suppose you are right. It's just, I look forward to standing atop the acropolis one more time with you by my side, watching the sun set over the city…You know, like we used to do every day after training?"

"One day, Pallene, one day. That is a promise…"

Pallene and Kyria smiled at each other momentarily before something caught their attention. Off in the distance, Kyria and Pallene saw a single light flickering over the water. One-by-one, more lights began to fade in next to the first one, as though someone in the distance was lighting multiple torches at once.

"What are those?" Pallene asked.

"I don't know," replied Kyria, "There's no land for miles. Ships, perhaps?"

"If so," said Pallene, "There must be at least two of them."

"And it looks like we're on a collision course...Sarpedon?"

"I see them!" proclaimed Sarpedon, as he manned the wheel, "I'm trying my best to sail out of the way, but the current is still very strong!"

"Keep trying!" ordered Kyria.

"Kyria!" cried Pallene, "They're coming right for us!"

Thomas came running to the Kyria's side of the ship.

"What in the world?" he asked.

"Hostile ships," replied Kyria, "Possibly pirate vessels. Thomas, get your sword. I have a feeling they are going to try to board us."

"What about Christine?" Thomas demanded, "She's still below decks!"

"Pallene," said Kyria, "Go get Christine."

Pallene nodded and ran to the hatch that led below decks.

"Hold on to something, Thomas," said Kyria, "They might try to ram us!"

The ships sailed rapidly towards the groups' own. They were caravels as well, not much bigger than the group's own, with a black paint job that helped them to blend in with the night sky. One of the boats was now mere inches away from the group, and despite Sarpedon's efforts, a collision was imminent.

"Brace for impact!" yelled Kyria.

* * *

"Christine!" yelled Pallene, as she ran down the stairs leading below decks, "Get up! We…"

The entire boat began to shake violently as the enemy caravel rammed it at full speed. Christine, who had been sleeping on one of the cots below decks, awoke suddenly as she was thrown to the floor. Pallene had fallen not far from her.

"Wh-What's happening?" asked Christine, recovering from her fall.

"We're being attacked," replied Pallene, as she ran towards Christine, "Come on, we have to…"

Just then, Pallene noticed the barrel of gunpowder sitting in the corner next to some rifles. Pallene glanced at the barrel, then at one of the nearby wall torches.

"Christine," she began, "How well do you trust me?"

* * *

Above decks, Thomas and Kyria were rocked by the impact and fell to the floor, with Kyria dropping her weapons. The robed men from the enemy ship began to swing over using grappling hooks while others used planks to walk across.

"No," said Thomas, standing up, "How is possible? It's _them_!"

The men from the enemy ship were indeed Fygul cultists. Somehow, the cult had caught the group by surprise and now had the upper hand. Close to a dozen men had boarded the ship, all with swords. A dozen more remained aboard their own ships, observing the chaos with crossbows drawn.

Thomas tried to fight them off, but was quickly overwhelmed and forced to drop his rapier. Elsewhere, Kyria tried to gather her fallen shield, but stopped once she felt cold steel touching the back of her neck.

"Don't be a hero," warned Sarpedon, holding his kopis close to her throat.

Kyria took a deep breath and stood up slowly, keeping her eyes on her traitorous comrade. The cultists kept their swords trained on Thomas and Kyria, forcing them to stand in the centre of the ship. Kunpaetku emerged from behind and stepped next to Sarpedon.

"Sarpedon," Kyria spoke through her teeth, "You led us straight to them!"

"Indeed," said Sarpedon, "Our Venice plan had failed, so we had no choice but to move on to Plan B. As I escorted Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku out of the cursed grotto, we set up an ambush point at these coordinates."

"How could you?" demanded Thomas, "How could you betray your friends like this - Not to mention your gods?"

"You know, Thomas," began Sarpedon, "If there's one thing you were right about, it's that who in their right mind would willingly worship someone considers us mere cattle? Zeus allowed my ancestor to die. For that, he will pay!"

"Do you honestly believe that the world will be better off under Ares?"

"Once the Great Palgaea reaches full strength, his loyal followers will be imbued with the fires of war. Humanity will achieve transcendence and reach a new golden age not seen since the days immortals walked among us!"

"You're mad!" snapped Kyria, "Soul Edge is evil! Humanity will never transcend under Ares! We will be nothing more than malfested slaves!"

Sarpedon approached Kyria and placed a hand on her face.

"I don't care much for the boy," he said, "But you hold a special place in my heart. I've travelled with you for many years and have gotten to know you well. If you join me, I promise I will allow you and your beloved Pallene to live."

Kyria responded by spitting in Sarpedon's face.

"I'd rather _die_ than serve a fallen god!" she spat.

"Probably not the smartest thing to say when being threatened by armed men," remarked Thomas.

"Very entertaining," said Kunpaetku, dryly, "But we are wasting precious minutes. Thomas, where is your wife?"

"They are below decks," Sarpedon replied, wiping his face.

Kunpaetku snapped his fingers at two men, prompting them to head for the hatch leading below decks. Just as they opened it, Pallene and Christine emerged, holding their hands up.

"We're unarmed," said Pallene, "Don't shoot!"

The men forced Pallene and Christine to stand near the centre, across from Thomas and Kyria.

"Thomas," whispered Christine.

"It's okay," assured Thomas, "We're getting out of this. I promise."

"Oh no, you're not," laughed Sarpedon, "You see, your stupid lady-friend just signed your death warrant. I know you and I never got along, Thomas, but I truly am going to miss our little discussions."

As Sarpedon spoke, Pallene nodded to Kyria, prompting Kyria to nod back.

"Thomas," she whispered, "Brace yourself…"

"One last thing before I end your miserable life," said Sarpedon, placing his sword under Thomas' chin, "I want you to disgrace my ancestor one last time. Go on. It will make your death _so_ much sweeter…"

Thomas swallowed hard and remained silent.

"Have it your way…" sneered Sarpedon, raising his weapon.

In the background, one of the cultists began looking around and sniffing the air.

"Does anyone else smell smoke?" he asked.

Just then, a large explosion rocked the boat. Several cultists tumbled off the side of the boat and into the water. Several others, including Thomas and Kyria, were knocked down. Sarpedon fell backwards and struck his head against the wall, leaving him slightly dazed.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" demanded Kunpaetku, as his followers tried to help him back up.

The gunpowder that Pallene had ignited blew a massive hole in the caravel's side, causing water to pour in rapidly. Amidst the confusion, Thomas recovered his fallen rapier and used it to cut down the cultists closest to him.

Meanwhile, Kyria stomped on her fallen shield, flinging it into the air. As soon as she caught it, she used it to club two incoming cultists. She then drew her sword and fought off several more. Elsewhere, Pallene took on several men herself.

"Watch out!" yelled Thomas.

The cultists on the other boats fired crossbows, forcing the group to duck in cover.

"IDIOTS!" yelled Kunpaetku, "If you hit the girl, the necklace is useless to us! CEASE FIRE!"

Several cultists crowded around Christine and Kunpaetku began escorting them off the vessel and onto the planks connecting to the enemy boats.

"THOMAS!" she screamed, "HELP!"

"CHRISTINE!" Thomas yelled back.

"We have to go," said Kyria, "Or we'll be overwhelmed!"

"I'm not going anywhere without my wife!" said Thomas.

Thomas attempted to pursue the cultists, but found himself being dragged back by Kyria. With all her strength, she pulled Thomas away from the chaos towards the port end of the ship.

"You're not getting out of here alive!" sneered Sarpedon, as he came to.

Sarpedon grabbed his weapon and began pursuing Kyria and Thomas, only to be intercepted by Pallene.

"I cannot let you pass," she said, "Sarpedon, you will pay for your betrayal!"

"So," chuckled Sarpedon, "The child wishes to take on a demi-god? Fine. Have it your way!"

"Pallene!" called Kyria, "What are you doing?"

"Go," said Pallene, "I'll hold him off."

Mortified, Kyria watched as Pallene drew her short sword and entered a combat stance. She had left her spear below deck, leaving her with only her sword to defend herself.

"Pallene," Kyria whispered.

"Um," said Thomas, "Kyria?"

Kyria turned to face the other boats saw that the cultists had reloaded their crossbows and were ready to fire another round. With Kunpaetku and Christine safely out of harm's way, there was nothing to stop the cultists from shooting again.

"Jump!" yelled Kyria.

With nowhere else to go, Thomas and Kyria leapt overboard. The cultists fired their arrows into the sea, but missed as the duo swam deeper.

* * *

"Foolish child," laughed Sarpedon, "You are no match for me!"

Back on the sinking ship, Sarpedon and Pallene continued their battle. Both warriors pressed their swords firmly against each other, but Sarpedon's strength far exceeded Pallene's. He pushed her back, kicked her in the gut, and then swung his sword, slicing her right bicep.

"ACK!" she yelled.

Pallene tried to impale Sarpedon, only to have him sidestep and retaliate with a deep cut to her backside. Exhausted, and in agony, Pallene fell to the floor to catch her breath. Sarpedon stood above her, mocking her.

"Say it," he said, "Admit to me that you have lost, and I may let you live."

"We haven't lost yet," said Pallene, as she struggled to her feet, "Not as long as Kyria and Thomas are still alive! There is still hope."

"Even if they survive their little swim, there is nothing they can do now. We have what we came for. It is only a matter of time before we reach Lemnos and reconstruct Soul Edge. Hope is just a pathetic illusion now."

Pallene readied her sword once more, despite the pain she was in, and belted out a mighty battle cry. As she charged Sarpedon, the veteran warrior countered her assault and finished off with a horizontal blow that cut deep into her abdomen. As Sarpedon withdrew his sword, Pallene slowly collapsed to the floor.

"Kyria," she whispered before closing her eyes, "May the gods be with you…"

"Pathetic," muttered Sarpedon, "Time to get off this sinking piece of garbage."

As Pallene took her last breath, Kyria, who was being swept away by the powerful current, felt a sharp pain in her own gut, as if she had been stabbed herself. She slowly closed her eyes and allowed herself to be carried by the waves towards the unknown.


	10. Revelations

**Chapter 9:**

The bright morning sun glistened in the water as the waves gently crashed into the shore. The beach was completely empty, save for a young man lying face-down in the muddy shoreline. The cries of the seagulls overhead slowly awoke him.

"Wh-Where am I?" he wondered.

Thomas remembered jumping off of a boat – Everything afterwards was a complete blur. As Thomas stood, he wiped his shirt, which was soaked and filthy. Not far from where Thomas stood, his trusted rapier lay, covered in mud and seaweed. Thomas promptly picked it up and cleaned it.

"Christine," Thomas thought, "I let you down, didn't I? I'm your husband; I'm supposed to protect you…"

Thomas trekked through the sandy beach for some time before reuniting with Kyria, who had been sitting atop a large rock, staring out into the sea.

"Kyria?" said Thomas, sprinting towards her.

Like Thomas, Kyria's clothes were tattered and muddy. Her eyes were vacant and expressionless as she stared out into the water. Thomas waved at her to grab her attention.

"Huh?" she said, upon seeing Thomas, "Oh. You're awake? Good."

Kyria jumped down from the rock and approached Thomas.

"Let's get moving," she said, "There should be a town nearby."

"'Get moving'?" demanded Thomas, "Do you even know where the hell we are?"

"If I had to guess," began Kyria, "Central Albania. Likely somewhere outside of Durrës."

Kyria picked up her sword and shield, which lay on the ground and began walking. Kyria's total indifference further fueled Thomas' mounting frustration over his current predicament. Despite his anger, he followed her, albeit reluctantly.

"They must have indoctrinated him," Kyria muttered, "While he was undercover. They must have caught him spying and instead of killing him, they…"

"Kyria," began Thomas, "No one indoctrinated anyone. Sarpedon alone is responsible his actions, you hear me?"

"That's not possible. I traveled with him for years. I knew him better than anyone! I _trusted_ him."

"The same way you trusted Greed and Dampierre?"

Kyria suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Thomas.

"Excuse me?" she barked, visibly offended by his remark.

"Recall," began Thomas, "The number of times we were betrayed by those you said could be trusted. Or, how every single time you told me you had a plan, things always degenerated into bloodshed and chaos. Everything my wife said about you was right!"

"How dare you accuse me of letting my guard down! Everything I did, it was to protect you and Christine! How could I have possibly foreseen every single outcome?"

"Well, for one, I figured your imaginary friends would've given you a heads-up! You know what? Perhaps Hephaestus knows where my wife is. Why don't you ask him?"

"YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO LOST SOMEONE, ALRIGHT?"

Kyria bit her lip and stopped herself from saying anymore. Thomas slowly backed away her; until now, he had never seen Kyria this emotional.

"Perhaps it's best I travel on my own," he said, meekly

Thomas turned and began walking the opposite way.

"Where are you going to go?" Kyria demanded, "You don't even know where you are! We have a better chance of surviving if we stay together!"

Thomas ignored Kyria and picked up the pace. Nothing mattered to him anymore; all he wanted was to be alone. In turn, Kyria made no effort to stop him. She realized that Thomas' words, however harsh, were true: She had failed. As Thomas slowly faded from her sight, she lowered her head and began walking the other way.

* * *

For hours, Thomas walked southward with no particular destination in mind. He had no food and no water, and shelter from the blistering sun was hard to come by. For most of his journey, Thomas followed the length of the Adriatic coast; the sound of the waves crashing was calming, but also a grim reminder of last night's events.

With his thirst and exhaustion mounting, Thomas grew desperate to find some kind of settlement. Thomas had walked a considerable distance from the beach and was no longer certain if he knew how to get back. Thus, he pressed onward.

As the sun began to set, Thomas stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient citadel, which appeared Byzantine in origin. Most of its walls had completely collapsed, exposing the interior, which had been overtaken by weeds and grass. Whatever treasures this place once held had all been looted long ago.

"Fascinating," said Thomas, as he stepped onto the castle grounds.

Lacking the physical or mental strength to carry on, Thomas slumped onto a large stone and tried to rest. So many thoughts raced through his head at that moment, though he was unable to process any of them. All he knew for sure was that his journey was over. Christine was gone and there was little he could do to save her. There was nothing left to but drift off into slumber…

"Thomas…"

A disembodied voice snapped Thomas out of his trance.

"Who's there?" demanded Thomas, looking around.

A large sphere of white light materialized several feet away from Thomas. The light was stronger than the sun, yet it did not blind Thomas.

"Thomas," the sphere spoke again, "It is good to finally speak to you…"

"Wh-Who are you?" the young man asked.

"I go by many names," said the being, "Ptah, Vulcan, Svarog…But you know me best as Hephaestus, god of fire and forge."

"Ha!" Thomas laughed, "It's finally happened! I've lost my bloody mind! I suppose it was only a matter of time!"

"You are entitled to think whatever you want of me, Thomas," said Hephaestus, "But do not be so quick to brush me off before I say what it is I came here to say."

"And what would that be?"

"Do not lose hope. I understand things look grim, but you've come too far to give up now."

"'Grim' doesn't even _begin_ to describe my current scenario. Look around you; I am the middle of nowhere with no mode of transport, my wife is the hands of a dangerous cult, and the only friend I have left is a woman who has thus far broken every promise she made to me!"

"You cannot blame Kyria for all of your problems. She was given a difficult, but important mission, and until now, she has carried it out well."

"Yes, but…"

"She is a strong woman, but she is set in the old ways; a consequence of her upbringing. She believes my word to be the absolute truth. The reality is, we gods are no more perfect than the human beings we created."

"So you admit you've made mistakes?"

"Thomas, we've all made mistakes. But yes, no god is more regretful than I. In my blind rage, I cursed my own niece when I should have been celebrating her joyous occasion. And now, it is your wife who is paying for my mistake. However, my biggest regret is crafting the forge in which Soul Edge was built. My father, Zeus, never forgave me for that. Humanity never forgave me."

"Why haven't you done anything about it? You and the other gods just…Abandoned us; left us to deal with it!"

"Zeus forbade contact with humanity after that. Our era had reached its end. For centuries, however, I secretly summoned holy warriors to track down and destroy Soul Edge. One warrior partially succeeded. I believe you encountered him when your soul was taken to Astral Chaos."

"Necrid?" said Thomas.

"Despite falling under the influence of the sword," continued Hephaestus, "Necrid regained enough sanity to ultimately complete his mission. He flooded the city of Sybaris to ensure the sword or his cursed army never saw the light of day ever again. But still, the sword lived, and I feared the day others would come looking for it. But then, something happened - Something that restored my faith in humanity…"

"What?"

"You, Thomas. You came along and tore that wretched sword apart! For the first time in centuries, I had hope; hope that humanity can achieve anything it puts its mind to."

Thomas contemplated for a moment. If he could inspire a god, then perhaps anything was possible.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Hephaestus said, breaking the silence, "But you cannot end your quest now. Go back to Kyria and continue onward. If ever you find yourself lost, then look for the great, golden pedestal upon which the orange pillar descends. There, you will find hope."

"Huh?" asked Thomas, "What does that mean? What pedestal are…HEY! Wait a minute!"

The bright sphere of light flew up over Thomas' head and hovered there for a few seconds. Thomas stood up and tried to reach for it, but it merely vanished as he did so. Thomas rubbed his head and tried to process what had just happened. Had it all been a dream, or was it real? And what pillar was Hephaestus referring to?

Just then, Thomas was startled by the sound of horses galloping. Fearing the possibility of bandits, Thomas took cover behind one of the crumbling walls and watched as three figures on horseback parked themselves just outside the castle's perimetre. One of the men had a bird perched on his shoulder. It was too dark to make out their faces, but their uniforms gave away their identities.

"Ottoman Janissaries?" asked Thomas, "What are they doing all the way out here?"

For nearly twenty minutes, the soldiers stood in place, conversing in Turkish. It was clear they were waiting for someone. Eventually, Thomas heard more horses galloping. Peering over the wall again, he saw an additional three men arrive on the scene on horseback. This time, it was Sarpedon accompanied by two cultists.

"Sarpedon?" said Thomas, "What's going on?"

"Evening," Sarpedon spoke to the soldiers, "Glad to see you received my message."

The bird flew from the soldier's arm to Sarpedon's.

"You and your organization have a lot of nerve," said the soldier, "Passage through our territory? On such short notice? Bah!"

"Do not forget our arrangement," said Sarpedon, "Our grand priest does not pay you what he does for this kind of hostility."

As Sarpedon and the soldiers spoke, Thomas looked away and rubbed his chin.

"My word!" he said to himself, "Christine was right; the Fygul Cestemus really have swayed the Ottoman military to do their bidding! This is bad..."

"What happened to your boat?" asked the soldier, "Passage by land was not part of the initial plan."

"Well," said Sarpedon, "One of my former travel companions detonated some sort of bomb underneath the ship in some last-ditch effort to stop us. The explosion also caused minor damage to one of our own vessels, specifically the rudder. Travel by sea will take too long now."

"A bomb?" laughed the soldier, "Sarpedon, you never cease to amaze!"

"I did not come here to be mocked," growled Sarpedon, "Now, will you speak to Dragut or not?"

As Thomas spied on the Sarpedon and his allies, he pressed his hands firmly against the crumbling stone wall. One of the bricks came loose and fell to the grassy floor, making a soft "Thud". Sarpedon and the soldiers immediately halted their discussion and turned their heads towards Thomas' location.

"What was that?" asked Sarpedon, suspiciously.

Thomas sat perfectly still behind the wall and held his breath, hoping not to attract any more attention towards himself.

"It's nothing," insisted the soldier, "Listen, we will get in touch with Dragut and have him prepare you vessels in the port of Stagira. As a courtesy, he will also dispatch a small force of men. Will that be all?"

"Yes," said Sarpedon, "Though, if you don't mind, I will need to oversee the vessels you are selecting. By order of Valnykuluk himself."

"Of course," sneered the soldier, "Follow us."

The three soldiers turned their horses around and set off. Sarpedon began to follow them but stopped suddenly, prompting the two cultists accompanying him to stop as well.

"Sir?" said one of the cultists.

"I sensed someone watching us," said Sarpedon, "You two, confirm my suspicions. Kill anyone you find here."

"Yessir," they spoke in unison.

As Sarpedon rode away, the two cultists disembarked their horses and began to scour the area in search of a potential spy. Thomas, who was still hiding behind the wall, grew anxious.

"I have to get out of here," he thought.

As the cultists entered the ruins and continued their search, Thomas crawled from behind the brick wall and made his way deeper inside. He periodically took cover behind a pillar or rock when he sensed them looking in his direction.

"Once I'm back on the path," began Thomas, "Then maybe I can…"

Thomas' train of thought was interrupted by the snapping of a small twig underneath his feet. The noise was loud enough that it attracted the cultists' attention. It wasn't long before Thomas heard them shouting commands in their language.

"Great," Thomas muttered under his breath.

Thomas bolted from the scene, running as fast as he could towards the road that brought him here. The cultists jumped back on their horses and pursued Thomas. It did not take long for them to catch up to him.

"YOU!" yelled one of the cultists, "STOP!"

He then drew a sword and raised it above his head in preparation to cut down Thomas. Thomas, realizing how futile it was to try and outrun a horse, leapt sideways off of the path, narrowly dodging the cultist's incoming blow, but rolling down a steep ditch.

"Ack!"

Thomas was unharmed, but winded **,** leaving him vulnerable. The cultists doubled back and approached Thomas' location. They once again disembarked their horses and drew their swords.

"No…" pleaded Thomas, as he stared into the cultists' eyes.

Just then, one of the men was struck down by an arrow. Before the other man could react, an arrow struck him down as well.

"What on Earth?" asked Thomas.

Thomas climbed out of the ditch and stepped back onto the road. There, he was greeted by an entire unit of men in steel armour, all on horseback. From behind the men, Kyria emerged.

"Kyria?" said Thomas.

"Glad to see you're alright," she said, jumping down from her horse, "I believe you're already acquainted with Johan?"

The lead soldier lifted his helmet's visor, revealing Johan Dürer's face.

"Thomas," he laughed, "Ready to save your wife?"


	11. Race Against Time

**Chapter 10:**

 _Venice, days earlier:_

"Another one," said one of Johan's men.

"Put him there," Johan ordered.

The mercenary wrestled the young looter, whose hands were bound, to the ground and propped him up next to the building's wall, alongside dozens of other looters. With Thomas and the others safely away from the coliseum, the mercenaries assisted the Italian soldiers in cleaning up the streets and restoring order.

"The riots have all but died down," began Johan, "And Cepheus is being re-united with the girl as we speak; remarkable job, men!"

As the mercenaries celebrated, two nearby Italian soldiers examined them with suspicion.

"It matters not that you aided us," spat one of the soldiers, "You still have a lot of explaining to do to the Doge when he returns."

"Oh?" said Johan.

"He's going to want to know why foreign mercenaries are operating in Venice without his knowledge," said the other soldier, "What is it you want here, scum?"

"My men and I are not planning to stick that long," began Johan, "But if you insist, then I'll be happy to stay and explain to the Doge how many of his soldiers took bribes from the cultists, allowing them to march through sections of the city unopposed."

The soldiers sneered at Johan, but ultimately backed down. Just then, another mercenary arrived onto the scene, dragging behind him a prisoner.

"Look who it is, sir," said the man, "Found him on the same island where that damned coliseum was."

Johan turned around to get a good look at the prisoner. He was the strange man they had encountered in the Doge's palace.

" _Unglaublich_ ," sighed Johan, "So, we allowed you to escape, yet you chose to hang around?"

"I 'ad no choice, sir," sobbed the man, "Dampierre needed me at the coliseum, 'e did. 'e assured me that the Fygul Cestemus would take care o' you mercenaries!"

"Clearly," began Johan, "That wasn't the case. Now, you are in big trouble."

"Oh God!" the man began bawling, "I don't wanna go to prison! Please, I'll tell you everythin' I know!"

"How did you manage to escape the coliseum so quickly without being spotted?"

"There was this secret tunnel. This one bloke wearin' a toga was leadin' the cultists through it and I followed 'em. I really wish I 'adn't…I 'ate the dark!"

"Who? What man in a toga?"

"I don't bloody know 'is name!"

Johan glanced around at his soldiers, puzzled.

"Sir," said one of the mercenaries, "He could be referring to Kyria's ally. I believe his name was Sarpedon."

"That can't be right," said Johan, "Sarpedon told us he was _pursuing_ them through the tunnel…Are you sure he was _leading_ them out?"

"I swears," pleaded the man, "They even discussed 'long the way, they did."

" _Mein Gott!_ " exclaimed Johan, "If this is true, then Kyria's in danger! We have to go _now!_ "

"Sir?" said one of the men.

"Don't you see?" demanded Johan, "Sarpedon is a traitor! We have to find Kyria and warn her!"

Johan pointed at the Italian soldiers.

"You two," said Johan, "We need a boat to cross the Adriatic _immediately_. This is an emergency!"

"You're pushing your luck, kid," growled one of the soldiers, "Why should we help you?"

"Because," said Johan, placing a hand on his scabbard, "I'll do more than 'push' if you refuse to help!"

The soldiers glanced at each other for a second then turned to face Johan again.

"You can have one of the caravels we seized from the coliseum," said the soldier, "Try to bring it back in one piece, yes?"

"Men," said Johan, "Let's go!"

 **-End Flashback-**

"So," began Thomas, "What happened after you left Venice?"

"We sailed across the sea, hoping to find your boat," explained Johan, "When we found the wreckage, we nearly lost hope. By sunrise, we put our search on hold and headed to Durrës. It was at the port we encountered Kyria."

"Indeed," said Kyria, "I had gone there hoping to procure a new boat - Not an easy task to accomplish without cash. After encountering Johan and his men, we rented some horses and set off in search for you."

"After everything I said," began Thomas, "You still…"

"Thomas," said Kyria, "You are the last friend I've got. Your wife is still out there and I refuse to let you die alone without at least giving you one last shot to save her."

"I-I-I don't know what to say," said Thomas, "Er, other than 'Thank you', that is."

Kyria smiled at Thomas.

"I don't mean to break up the reunion," began Johan, "But I have to ask: What are Fygul cultists doing all the way out here?"

Kyria and Thomas turned to face Johan, who was inspecting the cultists' bodies.

"I can answer that," began Thomas, "Before you arrived, I overheard a meeting between Sarpedon and some Ottoman Janissaries."

"Janissaries?" asked Kyria.

"Yes. It is exactly as my wife theorized; the Fygul Cestemus have the Ottoman navy in their pockets. The Janissaries spoke of someone named 'Dragut', who is supplying the cult with weapons and manpower."

"I know that name," said Johan, "It is the nickname of Turgut Reis, an Ottoman Navy admiral and privateer responsible for a number of invasions across Europe. If _he_ is taking bribes from the cult, then this conspiracy is far greater than I thought!"

"Thomas," began Kyria, "Did they say exactly how they will be getting to Lemnos?"

"Yes," continued Thomas, "The Turks are providing Sarpedon ships in some town named Stagira. But I should warn you that there will likely be a heavy military presence as well."

"Well then," boomed Johan, "What are we waiting for? Sarpedon may have gotten a head start, but if we leave now, we can still catch him!"

"Johan," said Kyria, "This is not your fight. You've done so much already. You still have those artefacts to…"

"Bah!" scoffed Johan, "Those can wait. We have a far more pressing issue at hand, don't we, men?"

Johan's men all nodded in agreement. Kyria smiled.

"Ready to go then, Thomas?" she asked, while holding out her hand to Thomas.

Thomas nodded and took her hand, allowing her to hoist him up onto her horse.

"I know these lands like the back of my hand," she said, "There's a shortcut to Stagira that not even Sarpedon knows about. It will take us primarily through Macedonia. We will avoid most of the Ottoman patrols and arrive in about a week."

"Alright," said Thomas, "I trust your judgement, Kyria."

"So," Kyria smirked, "You trust me now? What changed?"

"Call it a, er, 'revelation'."

* * *

And so, for the next few days, the group pressed onward, passing mainly through the mountainous region of Macedonia. Thomas remained determined to save Christine, though doubts and concerns plagued him at every rest stop.

On one night, the group had stopped to rest atop a large hill. Johan and his men slept in tents, sheltering them from the cold and dry air, while Kyria stayed awake to keep watch over the group. She sat under a small shelter occasionally poking at a dying pyre with a small stick. Over the horizon, the first few rays of the morning sun poked through the darkness.

Thomas, unable to sleep, stepped out of his tent and made his way over to Kyria, taking a seat next to her.

"Thomas," she said, "Can't sleep?"

"It's hasn't been easy," the young man replied, "How can I rest knowing Christine is in their hands?"

"You need not worry," said Kyria, "The Fygul Cestemus cannot harm her until the ritual is complete."

"I know. It's just – I cannot imagine what she is going through right now."

Kyria poked the dying fire some more, though it was nothing but embers at this point.

"I'm sorry, by the way," said Thomas, "About all that I said before. I was being incredibly selfish."

"It's alright," said Kyria, "You weren't entirely wrong. It was my duty to keep your wife safe and I failed you. It's a miracle you trusted me as long as you did."

"I spoke to him, you know."

"Who?"

"Hephaestus. Back in Albania, he appeared before me and…"

"What did he say?"

"He told me to stay strong and to have faith in you. He told me of all his regrets and how my destruction of Soul Edge was inspiring to him. Granted, I was exhausted and heat-stricken at the time, so I cannot be entirely sure that my vision was real, but…God, you must think me mad, huh?"

"I'd never think that. I am a woman of faith. I care not if your vision was real, only what you got from it."

"Well, I'm not a man of faith...Er, at least I wasn't until recently. Now, I don't know what to think anymore!"

Kyria tossed away the stick and allowed the fire to die. With the morning sun rising, the fire was no longer needed.

"Allow me to tell you a story," she began, "The night before the birth of their daughter, an Athenian couple received an oracle from the goddess Athena. She told the couple that their child was special; the last descendant of an Amazonian princess who would grow up to achieve greatness. When the child turned five years of age, the couple gave her up to a secret order of priests to be trained in combat and serve the gods as a Holy Warrior."

"I suppose that child is you?"

"I cannot imagine how painful it must have been for them to give me up like that, knowing they'd never see me again. That, Thomas, is faith; the defiance of all your inner beliefs and wants for the greater good. The decision my parents made that day is probably the best one they've ever made…But they will never see why."

"So there really is no answer for what I saw?"

"All I know is: Everything happens for a reason. To have faith means to ignore that reason and continue moving forward."

Thomas rubbed his chin and contemplated for a moment.

"Come," Kyria stood up, "It's morning now. We should resume our journey."

"Of course," said Thomas, "Just one last question: When Hephaestus spoke to me, he mentioned something about an orange pillar and a golden pedestal. Do you have any idea what he was referring to?"

"It's hard to say," said Kyria, "Perhaps it is an oracle for you. We shall see when the time comes."

Thomas nodded and followed Kyria as she went to wake up the others up.


	12. Last Chance

**Chapter 11:**

Stagira was an ancient city located in the easternmost region of the Chalcidice Peninsula. Once a location of great significance, it now lay mainly in ruins. The town was comprised of sloped, winding roads lined with crumbling structures, much of whom had been overtaken by vegetation.

At the foot of these sloped roads lay the shore where half a dozen caravels were parked and numerous cultists gathered, including Grand priest Valnykuluk and his disciple, Kunpaetku. As the cultists loaded cargo onto the boats, an Ottoman patrol stood nearby in patrol of the area.

As the two priests discussed, Sarpedon dragged Christine over to them. She had been stripped of her red jacket, leaving her with only a sleeveless black top and black tights. Her hands were bound by shackles. Her appearance had gradually changed to that of a malfested, with dark, sunken eyes and ghostly white skin.

"You're making a mistake," she pleaded, "If you carry out this ritual, there's no telling how many will die!"

"Enough woman!" snapped Sarpedon, "You will do as your priests command you, understand?"

As Sarpedon shoved Christine, she retaliated by elbowing him in the gut, followed by a kick to the shin. As Christine attempted a run for it, Sarpedon grabbed her by the chin and pulled her close. He drew his kopis and placed it against her neck.

"You miserable wench," he spat.

"Hold, Sarpedon," warned Valnykuluk, "Do not let your anger get the better of you."

Sarpedon growled through his teeth.

"How could you?" demanded Christine, "How could you take such pleasure in striking down your young friend, hm?"

"Listen, you," began Sarpedon, "I have no choice but to keep you alive for now, but that does not mean I will not enjoy killing you when the ritual is over."

Christine broke free of the Greek's grasp.

"Build a new Soul Edge if you want," she taunted, "My husband will destroy it like he did the first one! You will never get away with this…"

"Your pathetic husband currently lies dead, at the bottom of the Adriatic Sea. When this is over, I will let you join him."

"Sarpedon," said Kunpaetku, "We need you to assist in packing the final ship. Can you do this for us?"

Sarpedon sheathed his sword and angrily stormed off.

"You need not worry, child," said Valnykuluk, in a fatherly tone, "Do as we say, and I guarantee you we will do all we can to ensure you survive this."

"Lies!" snapped Christine, "If you give Ares Soul Edge, then you may as well have killed me already!"

"So be it," Valnykuluk said, sternly.

At that moment, several cultists loaded what appeared to be a large cage onto a ship. The cargo was covered by a tarp which bore warning text and handling instructions. From inside the tarp, Christine could hear growling.

"Is something in there?" she asked, "A creature?"

"That," began Kunpaetku, "Is our final resort. Hopefully, there will be no need of it."

"Are you expecting resistance in Lemnos?"

"We can never be too safe, Christine," said Valnykuluk, placing his hand on Christine's necklace, "We are venturing into unknown territory. The necklace will show us the way, but afterwards we will be on our own. Even the Great Palgaea can no longer protect us, as Lemnos is his brother's domain."

As Valnykuluk spoke, he failed to notice Christine's hands, which firmly held the key she had picked off of Sarpedon while assaulting him.

* * *

Elsewhere, the group had successfully found the location that the cultists were preparing to leave from. From the top of a large slope leading down to the shore, the gang observed the numerous Ottoman soldiers patrolling the area.

"It's too dangerous," said Johan, dismounting his horse, "If we get any closer, we risk being spotted."

"Then," began Kyria, "We travel on foot. We will sneak our way over to the docks and launch a surprise attack, then steal one of their caravels. We can use the ruins and rock formations as cover."

"We're so close now," began Thomas, "It's almost over…"

"Do not get ahead of yourself, Thomas," cautioned Kyria, "We have only one last chance to do this right. Now, let's move quickly before they finish loading their ships and depart."

The rest of the group dismounted their horses and followed Kyria as she led them through the ruins.

* * *

Near the shore, Christine sat against the wall of a small hut near the docks. Using the stolen key, she began undoing her shackles. The two cultists assigned to watch her were too busy arguing to notice her.

" _Et voila_!" she whispered, her shackles finally coming undone, "Now to sneak out of here."

Christine slipped past the arguing cultists and began climbing her way up the sloped path. Every once in a while, she sought cover behind a wall or rock to avoid being spotted. Christine did not realize that not too far away, Thomas and the others were sneaking their way down to her location. While taking cover behind a broken wall, she spotted them on a ridge above her.

"I don't believe this," she said, "Thomas? Thomas!"

Thomas looked down in shock and saw Christine as well.

"Christine!" he exclaimed.

"Thomas," warned Kyria, "Not so loud! You'll…"

Thomas ignored Kyria and began climbing his way down to her location.

"Thomas!" snapped Kyria, "What the hell are you…"

"Christine!" called Thomas.

Thomas' actions attracted the attention of a nearby Ottoman, who immediately drew his rifle and pointed it at Thomas.

" _Ordasin_!" he yelled.

"They're going to kill him!" cried Kyria.

"Not if I can help it," said Johan.

One of Johan's men drew a rifle and shot the soldier in the chest, killing him. The noise startled Thomas, causing him to trip and fall, while also attracting attention from other soldiers, who immediately began mobilizing.

"They're here!" cried a soldier, "Assemble!"

"So much for the stealthy approach," lamented Kyria.

"Finally," laughed Johan, "Some action!"

From the shore, Valnykuluk, Kunpaetku and Sarpedon watched in shock as Johan's men charged down the hill and began fighting the Ottoman soldiers.

"How the hell did they survive?" demanded Kunpaetku.

"Nevermind that," said Valnykuluk, "We need to start dispatching the caravels! Most of what we need is packed already. Just grab the girl and…"

Valnykuluk turned his head and saw Christine was missing.

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?" yelled the priest, "Sarpedon, you…"

"Look," said Sarpedon, pointing, "Up that hill!"

Christine remained in cover as the fighting raged around her. Despite the chaos surrounding him, Thomas continued making his way over to her. Not far from the priests, two Ottoman soldiers aimed their rifles up the hill and fired. The shots struck the ground between Thomas and Christine.

"They're going to kill her!" cried Valnykuluk.

Without saying a word, Sarpedon stabbed one of the soldiers in the back and pointed his kopis at the other's throat.

"You," warned Sarpedon, "Order your men to fetch the girl, _alive_. If she is harmed, I will slit each and every last one of your throats, understand?"

The soldier nodded nervously and ran up the hill towards Christine.

"Amateurs," muttered Sarpedon, "You two, start boarding!"

"Without the girl?" asked Valnykuluk.

"I will take care of things here," Sarpedon insisted, "For now, it is imperative that you and Kunpaetku survive. The faster you set sail, the safer you will be!"

"He is right, Grand Priest," said Kunpaetku, "It is time to go."

Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku boarded one of the caravels alongside multiple cultists. One-by-one, the caravels departed from the shore.

"Time to put an end to those fools' misery," chuckled Sarpedon, as he observed the chaos.

* * *

"So much for avoiding international incidents," said Kyria, striking down a soldier.

"These men are not true soldiers," said Johan, stabbing another, "Once we are done here, we will expose Dragut's corruption to the world!"

"Good luck, then," said Kyria.

Meanwhile, Thomas still struggled to reach Christine, but found himself constantly on the defense from attacking soldiers. Christine had no means to fight back and thus remained in cover.

"I'm coming Christine!" yelled Thomas, "Just…"

"THOMAS!" yelled Christine.

An Ottoman soldier suddenly grabbed Christine and began dragging her down to shore. Christine kicked and fought back as hard as she could, prompting another soldier to assist in restraining her.

"NO!" yelled Thomas, cutting another man down, "CHRISTINE!"

Thomas began making his way down the hill in pursuit of Christine, but the chaos of battle proved to be an ever-present distraction. As Thomas made his way further down, he almost could not believe what he saw:

"Uhhh," said Thomas, "This is definitely not good…"

Two cannons were set up by the shore, facing the hill. An Ottoman soldier stood by each one, ready to fire.

"WOAH!"

Thomas hurled himself to the ground as the first cannon fired, narrowly missing him and instead striking a nearby building, burying him in a pile of debris and rubble. The second cannonball flew up the hill and struck a large column near Kyria, causing the top half to blow off.

"ACK!" yelped Kyria, placing her hand over her ear, "They're going to destroy this whole damn town just to stop us!"

"Let them try!" boomed Johan.

Kyria and Johan fought valiantly, but there seemed no end to the number of soldiers the Fygul Cestemus had working for them. Both soldiers and cultists climbed their way up the hill in a last ditch effort to stop Johan's men.

"It's hopeless," said Kyria, "We will never make it to shore with all of this resistance!"

"That is why," began Johan, "My men and I will do all we can to hold them back. You and Thomas must board that ship at all costs. I trust you will complete the mission!"

"Johan, I…"

"Just go, damnit! Leave the cannoneers to me, _ja_?"

Kyria nodded and bolted down the hill, while Johan drew a crossbow and headed for higher ground.

"Time to silence those guns," he muttered, while taking aim.

Johan fired the crossbow, striking one of the canoneers in the chest.

"Bullseye!" he laughed.

* * *

Back at the shore, only two caravels and a handful of cultists remained. Two of them forced Christine onto one of the boats.

"THOMAS!" she cried, "PLEASE GET UP!"

The injured Thomas slowly awoke as Christine's cries reached his pained, ringing ears. Blood ran down the side of his face from a cut in his head and he was covered in soot and dust. As his vision returned, he saw the caravel containing Christine move farther and farther away from him. Time was running out to save her.

"I have to keep moving," he thought.

Thomas pushed himself back up and collected his fallen sword before limping his way towards the docks. The remaining cannoneer stepped out from behind his cannon and drew his sword.

"Damnit!" muttered Thomas, preparing for combat.

The man swung his sword downwards, forcing Thomas to sidestep. Thomas retaliated with a thrust, but the soldier deflected the blow. The soldier twirled backwards and followed up with a thrust of his own, but Thomas blocked the move, then pressed his sword firmly against the soldier's.

"I won't…" grunted Thomas, "Let you…Stop me…"

Thomas kicked the man in the groin, forcing him back, before delivering a punch to his face with his left hand. Thomas then finished him off with an upwards slash.

"Now," thought Thomas, "Time to get to that boat!"

Thomas turned around and continued making his way to the last boat, only to be stricken down by a blow to the face. Thomas fell face down and spat out blood.

"Thomas!" boomed Sarpedon, "I must say, I truly admire your persistence! Even when faced with impossible odds, you carry on. Bravo!"

Thomas tried to stand up, but Sarpedon delivered a heavy kick to Thomas' gut, sending him back to the ground.

"I'm sorry," said Sarpedon, gesturing to his ear, "What was that? You want me to spare your pathetic life? My boy, I'm afraid that is no longer an option…"

Sarpedon grabbed Thomas by the collar and lifted him up. Thomas, weakened from his injuries, threw a flimsy punch that barely scratched Sarpedon's chin.

"You're going to have to do better than that," he laughed.

Sarpedon then threw Thomas behind him, sending him rolling into a piece of rubble. He then chuckled as he drew his kopis and approached the fallen young man.

"What chance did you have against me?" proclaimed Sarpedon, "You face a _demi-god_!"

Thomas resigned to his fate as Sarpedon raised his weapon in the air and prepared to deliver the killing blow. As Sarpedon brought his sword down, it collided with a shield.

"And you," began Kyria, "Face an Amazon!"

Sarpedon growled and pushed her back. The two circled each other slowly with weapons in hand.

"Your claims of godhood are nothing but blasphemy," said Kyria, "Your arrogance will be your undoing!"

"Oh, I will enjoy killing you," taunted Sarpedon, "The same way I enjoyed killing your little _Pallakida_!"

Kyria let out a might battle cry and charged for Sarpedon. As she slammed her sword down on his head, Sarpedon blocked with his own weapon, then pushed her back. He thrust his sword multiple times at Kyria, forcing her to sidestep each one. When Sarpedon attempted a vertical blow, she quickly raised her shield above her head in defense.

"I thought you were better than that," Sarpedon taunted.

"My thoughts to you," retorted Kyria.

Sarpedon growled in anger and commenced a new barrage of attacks, forcing Kyria to remain on her guard.

* * *

Meanwhile, Thomas, who lay injured on the ground, overheard two men conversing. He turned and saw two panicked cultists preparing to board the last boat, despite the fact that Sarpedon and other cultists remained in combat.

"I have to stop them," he wheezed.

Thomas struggled to his feet, clutching a jagged rock, and made his way to the boat. Thomas snuck up on the first man and slammed the rock into the back of his head, knocking him out. The second man turned around and drew his sword, but Thomas immediately pinned him to the wall of the boat, clutching his wrist tightly to prevent him swinging his sword.

"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Thomas.

Thomas bit the man's wrist hard, drawing blood. The cultist screamed in agony and finally dropped his sword. He retaliated by kneeing Thomas in the gut, and before long, the two were on the ground, trying to wrestle the other down.

"GACK!" Thomas cried as the man tried to choke him.

Thomas punched the man in the face several times to force him off. For the next while, they rolled around on the wet, rocky shoreline, taking turns punching and strangling each other. Eventually, Thomas gained the upper hand, delivering mounted punches to the man's face before forcibly submerging his head underwater, drowning him.

Once the man went limp, Thomas closed his eyes and exhaled a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the other cultist, whom Thomas thought he had knocked unconscious, came charging at him with a sword. Thomas shielded his face in panic, but was surprised when the man suddenly collapsed to the floor. A large arrow was lodged in his back.

"Huh?" asked Thomas, standing back up.

From where he stood, Thomas could see Johan up the hill holding his crossbow. The young mercenary nodded at Thomas before rejoining the battle. Thomas smiled and nodded back.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kyria and Sarpedon continued their duel, with each of their blows more vicious than the last. One of Sarpedon's blow struck Kyria in her shoulder armour, knocking her back. Sarpedon tried to follow up, but Kyria raised her shield in defense. Still, the force of the blow knocked her backwards to the ground. As Sarpedon tried to stomp on her, she rolled away from him and quickly stood up.

"Just give up already!" snapped Sarpedon.

"You'd like that," said Kyria, "Wouldn't you? An opponent who poses no challenge?"

"THAT'S IT!" Sarpedon screamed, "I've had enough of you!"

Sarpedon charged Kyria like a mad bull, but she blocked each of his attacks. As Kyria predicted, his arrogance was getting the better of him, leaving him open for a counter-attack. Thinking quickly, Kyria performed a low sweep that cut deep into Sarpedon's thigh. As the Greek yelled in pain, Kyria clubbed him in the face with her shield, knocking him back, before slicing his chest with her sword. Sarpedon fell to his knees, dizzy from pain.

"KYRIA!" yelled Thomas from the shore, "We have to go! There's no more time to waste!"

Kyria nodded at Thomas before turning back to Sarpedon.

"Get up," she commanded.

Despite his injuries, Sarpedon collected his sword and struggled to his feet. About halfway up, he fell to his knees again.

"I…I…" he said, meekly, "Please…"

"I said 'get up'," ordered Kyria, "And die like a man."

Sarpedon tried again, this time managing to get to his feet. His right hand trembled as he held his sword out in front of him. As he charged for Kyria one last time, she blocked the blow with her shield, then stabbed him square in the gut.

"Kyria!" Thomas called again, "We must go _now_!"

"I'm coming," said Kyria, removing her sword from Sarpedon's bowels.

As Sarpedon's body fell to the floor, Kyria made her way over to the boat. She and Thomas glanced one last time at the chaos still ensuing up the hill. Kyria desired to go back and aid her friend, but she knew she had a far more important task to accomplish now.

"We have to maintain our distance," she said, boarding the ship, "We cannot allow ourselves to be seen by them."

"Understood," said Thomas, as he boarded as well.

"We will dock at the north end of the island," continued Kyria, "Then, we will figure things out from there."

"For my wife's sake," began Thomas, "I hope we pull through."

Thomas released the anchor while Kyria manned the sails. As the boat set off, Thomas set his sights on the small island that lay in the distance. Their journey had almost reached its end…


	13. The Cursed Island

**Chapter 12:**

The sun was beginning to set by the time the Fygul Cestemus reached Lemnos. The small island located in the Aegan Sea was littered with volcanoes and the ruins of temples dedicated to Hephaestus. The Mighty Forge was hidden somewhere amidst the volcanoes, and the Fygul Cestemus were close to finding it now.

Upon docking, the cultists unloaded all of their goods, which included horses for travel. The caravan of horses and carriages made its way across a rocky, desolate sector of the island. Among them stood an exhausted and frightened Christine.

"Fret not, Christine," assured Valnykuluk, "Our journey is at its end. Thanks to you, Soul Edge will finally be ours."

Christine said nothing. She merely stared at the floor in a near-comatose state.

"It is a shame that Sarpedon cannot be present for this joyous occasion," continued Valnykuluk, "Whether he survived or not, his contribution will be acknowledged."

"The fool served his purpose," Kunpaetku scoffed, "We no longer have need of him."

Christine looked behind her and saw two random cultists engaging in conversation. The pistol of one of the cultists was clearly visible on his belt. Christine took a deep breath and made a break for it.

"HAAAA!" she yelled.

She turned around, shoving one of the cultists back, while tackling the second. Having succeeded in snatching his pistol, she immediately stood back and pointed it at the cult leaders. In response, numerous cultists drew their weapons and aimed them at her. Christine then turned the gun on herself.

"Christine!" said Valnykuluk, "By the gods, what are you doing?"

"I-I-I'll do it!" cried Christine, with the gun planted firmly against her temple, "If I kill myself, the necklace will be useless. You will no longer have your vessel!"

"Everybody," began Valnykuluk, "Lower your weapons!"

The cultists obeyed.

"Christine," pleaded Valnykuluk, "Please don't do this. I promised I'd let you live once this was over, did I not?"

"I'd rather die than help you!" snapped Christine.

Kunpaetku smiled and waved his hand in front of Valnykuluk.

"It's alright," he assured, "I got this."

Kunpaetku moved closer to Christine, causing her to back away. The hand holding the pistol trembled violently.

"Go ahead," insisted Kunpaetku, "Do it. It may take years, or even decades, but we will eventually restore the necklace to full power. After all, the priests of the Fygul Cestemus are the greatest occultists in the world. While Grand Priest Valnykuluk may not live to see the day, I am still a young man. I can wait. Your death is an inconvenience at best."

"I…I…" began Christine.

"Of course," Kunpaetku continued, "We all know you won't actually do it. I can see the fear in your eyes. Just imagine your husband, having survived everything we threw at him, only to reach Lemnos and find your corpse laid out before him, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Not even the greatest of Greek tragedians could have conjured a more delicious irony."

"ENOUGH!" Christine snapped, with tears in her eyes, "Please…"

"Well?" asked the young priest, "Will you do the right thing or not?"

Christine's hand continued to tremble as her necklace began to glow bright orange. For a moment, Christine looked dazed, then suddenly collapsed to her knees and began crying in agony. Several cultists immediately surrounded her and confiscated the pistol from her.

"What is happening to me?" demanded Christine.

As the cultists hoisted Christine up, Kunpaetku brought his face to hers.

"As we near the forge," he began, "The necklace draws more energy from you, weakening you further. While an unfortunate turn of events for you, this is good news for us. You see, we can determine our proximity to the forge based on the frequency at which the necklace radiates with energy."

Christine struggled to look up at Kunpaetku's face while the other cultists held her.

"It seems we are close," he observed, "We best keep moving."

"Excellent," boomed Valnykuluk, "Let us proceed! And please, this time, keep the girl close so as to avoid any further 'incidences'."

And so, the cult continued onward, using the necklace as their guide to the forge. However, as they passed through a small chasm, they began to sense as though they were being watched…

* * *

Elsewhere on the island, Thomas and Kyria moved about on horses they found below the deck of the caravel they stole. They searched the volcano-covered region as hard as they could for some sign of Christine and the cult, to no avail.

"The mighty Lemnos," said Kyria, "Once the home of Hephaestus, and a rest stop for Jason and his Argonauts on their quest to find the Golden Fleece."

"That's one mythological tale I was never too familiar with," said Thomas.

"Perhaps," began Kyria, "Once our quest comes to an end, I will tell it to you."

"Yeah," said Thomas, "If only we could find Christine on time. We've no map, no compass and no idea where the forge is located other than that it is in a volcano. At this rate, we won't make it. Our entire adventure will have been for naught!"

"We _will_ find it," assured Kyria, "Just have…"

"'Faith'?" interrupted Thomas, "Look at us! We're going in bloody circles! No amount of 'faith' can…"

Thomas suddenly had an epiphany; while facing the northwest, he saw the bright, orange sun beginning to set. As it slowly descended, it passed behind two large faults, leaving only a small orange sliver shining through. The light reflected off of the mineral-rich ground, giving the appearance of a golden landscape. Thomas immediately recalled Hephaestus' words.

"The orange pillar descending upon the golden pedestal," he muttered, "Of course, that's it!"

"What is it?" asked Kyria, "Do you know where the Forge is?"

"Yes, through there! Come on!"

"Let us ride, then!"

Thomas and Kyria whipped the horses and charged for towards the narrow chasm that lay before them. Thomas had never felt more anxious than he did that moment. The time to save Christine and stop the Fygul Cestemus was almost upon him.

"Hold on, Christine," thought Thomas, "I'm coming!"

* * *

Meanwhile, further along the path:

"Grand Priest," said a random cultist, "I don't think we are alone. I saw movement earlier."

"Nonsense," said Valnykuluk, "The nearest settlement is miles away. These hills are uninhabited."

As they continued to march, another cultist looked up and saw a shadowy figure staring down at them from the fault above them. The figure immediately scurried away.

"With all due respect," he said, "I've been seeing strange things as well…"

"Enough!" Valnykuluk snapped as he approached the cultist, "This is not the time for your ghost stories! The entrance to the Forge lies near. If you no longer wish to bear witness to the miracle of Soul Edge, then by all means…"

Suddenly, an arrow struck the cultist in the chest, killing him instantly. Now in a state of panic, Kunpaetku and the others began observing their surroundings.

"Who is responsible for this?" demanded Valnykuluk.

Suddenly, another cultist was struck down by an arrow. Almost immediately, the cultists drew their rifles and crossbows began firing back at the unseen assailants above them.

"Wh-what's going on?" asked Christine.

"Nevermind that," said Kunpaetku, "We need to get you to safety!"

As more cultists were struck down by the hidden enemies, Christine used the opportunity to break free and run ahead of her captors. However, as she ran into a cave, she ended up face-to-face with one of the figures.

" _Mon dieu_ ," she whispered.

The creature was reptilian in appearance, with green, scaly skin and clawed hands. It wore very little clothing apart from gauntlets, shoulder armour and a hoplite's skirt. The creature wielded a xiphos and shield, like Kyria, which it banged together in a threatening manner.

The creature hissed loudly and slowly advanced on Christine. As she began backing away, she tripped and fell.

"No…" she whispered, shielding her eyes.

The creature halted its advance upon noticing her glowing necklace; instead, it lowered its weapons and bowed to her.

"Huh?" asked Christine, touching her necklace, "Could it be…?"

"Grab her now!" ordered Valnykuluk.

Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku suddenly appeared behind Christine, accompanied by two cultists, who grabbed Christine and lifted her off the ground.

"They will not harm her," said Kunpaetku, "For they think she is Harmonia. As long as we stay close to her, we are safe."

"Are you sure, Kunpaetku?" asked Valnykuluk.

"Positive. Now, follow me! The entrance is to the north."

"What about the 'final resort'? We…"

"There's no time for that! We must get going!"

The creature raised its weapon and hissed at the men, but did not pursue. Upon fleeing the cave, Christine and the cultists resumed their original route, leaving behind dozens of cultists at the mercy of the reptiles.

* * *

Thomas and Kyria continued riding along the path as it led them higher up into the hills. With the terrain growing increasingly rocky and uneven, the duo abandoned their horses and proceeded on foot. By now, it was dusk, and with the surrounding cliffs blocking most of the remaining sunlight, Kyria and Thomas were forced to light torches.

"I hope this is it," said Thomas, as he climbed a small ledge.

"Thomas," said Kyria, pointing, "Look over there!"

Not far from where the duo stood, at least half a dozen dead cultists lay on the ground, all stabbed to death. The duo approached the bodies cautiously.

"Fygul cultists?" said Thomas, as he examined the bodies, "How did this happen? Did they turn on each other?"

"Unlikely," replied Kyria, "Look at the stab wounds; they were caused by a Xiphos sword, not unlike what I wield. The Fygul use curved swords."

"So someone else did this? A third party, perhaps?"

"Possibly. But be warned, Thomas: Just because we share a common enemy, it does not automatically mean we are on the same side."

"I just hope Christine is safe."

As the duo moved forward, an unseen creature spied on them from atop a nearby rock spire.

"Did you hear something?" asked Thomas.

"THOMAS," shouted Kyria, "WATCH OUT!"

Kyria pulled Thomas out of the way, just in time to avoid the creature's attack. The impact caused Thomas and Kyria to fall over, though they quickly recovered. For a moment, the creature circled them, snarling and hissing.

"What the..." said Thomas, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," said Kyria, "Definitely not on the same side."

The creature roared and charged for the duo, forcing them to split up to avoid the attack. The creature set its sights on Kyria and began hammering her with his sword, forcing her to remain on the defensive.

"Kyria!" yelled Thomas, drawing his rapier.

Thomas tried to plunge the weapon into the creature's backside, to no avail. The creature spun around and struck Thomas with its shield, knocking him back a few feet.

Kyria used this chance to slice the creature's chest, though that too had little effect. The creature roared and recommenced its assault on Kyria.

"Thomas," she said, blocking another blow, "You have to aim for its underbelly!"

"Right," said Thomas, clutching his aching chest, "I'll try to remember that…"

Thomas ran up to the creature once more, this time impaling it in the ribs. As it roared in pain, Kyria sliced its shoulder, amputating its arm. The two then finished it off together by stabbing it in the torso."

"Is that it?" asked Thomas.

"No," said Kyria, "Run!"

Kyria grabbed Thomas by the arm and dragged him away from the scene as several more reptiles appeared, this time, armed with crossbows. They fired a number of arrows at the duo, which they barely managed to avoid. One of the creatures hissed out a command, prompting the others to pursue them.

Eventually, Thomas and Kyria found themselves in the centre of a warzone between the creatures and Fygul cultists. Despite their numbers, the cultists were ill-equipped to deal with the threat and were getting decimated. Bodies from both sides filled the battlefield; some on fire, illuminating the darkened area. Thomas and Kyria sought shelter behind a large rock to gather their thoughts.

"What in the _hell_ are those things?" demanded Thomas.

"I-I-I don't know," stammered Kyria, "They appear to be some kind of man-lizard hybrid...'Lizardmen', for lack of a better term."

"You mean, you've never seen anything like them before? You know so much about this bloody forge! You must have _some_ idea what they are!"

"My research failed to mention reptiles inhabiting the forge. The only theory I can come up with is that they are a last line of defense, guarding this place from outsiders."

"Wonderful. At least the cult is taking care of them for us…"

As Thomas peered over to observe the battle, a dead cultist suddenly flew into the rock he and Kyria lay behind.

"Errr," began Thomas, "Spoke too soon, perhaps?"

"It appears the Fygul were no more prepared to deal with this threat than we were," said Kyria, "Fortunately for us, we now have a distraction we can use to sneak into the Forge. If Christine and the others are already inside, then this is our last chance to get to them."

"I'm ready whenever you are," said Thomas.

"Alright," said Kyria, "Go! Now!"

Thomas and Kyria emerged from cover and bolted across the battlefield, using their weapons to deflect any errant crossbow shots. After passing through the dark tunnel ahead, they found themselves at the foot of a long, sloped path resembling a staircase.

"There," said Kyria pointing, "I see an entrance!"

The staircase led halfway up a colossal volcano, where a small doorway was carved into the rock.

"Ugh," muttered Thomas, "More climbing?"

About halfway up, Kyria and Thomas turned and saw a number of cultists emerge from the cave and climb the stairs behind them with swords drawn.

"This can't possibly get any worse," said Thomas.

Almost immediately after, a herd of Lizardmen emerged from the cave and climbed after them.

"Oh," said Kyria, "It just did. MOVE!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" sighed Thomas.

One-by-one, the Lizardmen knocked the cultists off of the staircase to their deaths as Thomas and Kyria continued their climb. Upon reaching the doorway at the top of the staircase, they entered, and found themselves on a stone platform suspended hundreds of feet above a river of magma. A heavily cracked stone bridge connected their platform to another some two-hundred feet away.

"Is this thing even safe?" wondered Thomas.

"Just cross," Kyria commanded, "Whatever you do, don't look down!"

The bridge was narrow and possessed no guardrails of any kind, so Thomas made sure to remain in the centre as much as possible. Thomas and Kyria moved cautiously so as not to deteriorate the already-delicate bridge. Despite Kyria's warning, Thomas did find himself glancing down on occasion.

"We're almost there," assured Kyria, "Halfway!"

A cultist who had managed to survive the slaughter outside came running through the entrance and glanced around momentarily. Upon spotting the stone bridge, he instantly darted across it, cracking the bridge further with every step. Just as he was about to reach Thomas and Kyria's location, a large chunk of the bridge broke off, causing Thomas and the cultist to lose their balance and fall.

"THOMAS!" screamed Kyria.

Kyria saved Thomas by clutching his left arm, leaving him leaning backwards over the chasm. The cultist, meanwhile, managed to hang on for dear life on the bridge's edge. The Lizardmen had caught up to the group and were rapidly making their way towards them.

"I got you, Thomas," said Kyria, "Just…ACK!"

In a desperate bid to survive, the cultist grasped Kyria's leg, affecting her balance.

"Please," he begged, "Save me!"

"Like Hell!" she spat, striking him repeatedly with her shield, "Let go, or you'll kill us all!"

Kyria's blows caused the cultist to let go, causing him to plummet into the molten pit below. With the Lizardmen only few feet away, Kyria succeeded in pulling Thomas to safety.

"Run," she ordered, "Don't look back."

"But what about…" he began.

"Just go!"

Thomas nodded and ran to the other end. Taking a deep breath, Kyria knelt down and repeatedly slammed her shield into one of the bridge's numerous cracks, attempting to dislodge another large chunk from it.

"What are you doing?" demanded Thomas, "Are you mad?"

Just as one of the Lizardmen was about to strike her down, another massive chunk broke off, this time causing the entire bridge to crumble and break. As the Lizardmen fell to their deaths, Kyria sprinted for her life. Thomas waved her down from his side.

"Hurry!" he cried, "You've almost made it!"

Kyria leapt into the air just as the last of the bridge had collapsed. Thomas threw himself to the ground and caught Kyria by the hand, saving her from death.

"Thanks," she said.

After helping to pull Kyria up, she and Thomas lay down on the ground by the cliff's edge for a minute to catch their breath.

"You know," said Thomas, "I was just about to scold you on how utterly insane that was."

"But…?" said Kyria.

"Then, I remembered: I did something incredibly stupid like that once too, during my hunt for Soul Edge...In fact, it was probably worse than this."

"Hm, if you say so..."

Once the duo had rested enough, they stood up and proceeded through the small doorway that lay before them. This was it; they had finally reached the forge.


	14. The Almighty Forge

**Chapter 13:**

The path Kunpaetku took led straight to the forge's primary entrance - A colossal staircase carved into the north side of the volcano leading up to a courtyard with Greek-style columns marking each of the four corners. At the far end of the courtyard was a pair of giant red doors adorned with gold engravings. A balcony hung high above the door, overlooking both the courtyard and the hills below.

"This is it," marveled Valnykuluk, "The entrance to the forge! It is unlike anything I have ever witnessed."

"It only gets better," said Kunpaetku, "Let us step inside."

As Valnykuluk and Kunpaetku approached the entrance, the two other cultists continued to drag Christine along. By now, the necklace's power left her too weak to resist.

Valnykuluk opened one of the giant red doors, allowing the others to step inside. Another herd of Lizardmen waited inside, though, like last time, they did not attack. They merely lowered their heads and stepped aside, allowing Christine passage.

"These creatures appear different," Valnykuluk observed.

Indeed, while the Lizardmen outside the forge donned ancient Greek armour, these Lizardmen donned the tattered remains of black robes, not unlike those worn by the Fygul Cestemus. In addition, they were unarmed.

"Come," said Kunpaetku, "The forge is this way…"

* * *

Following their ordeal on the bridge, Thomas and Kyria found themselves in a small, circular room carved entirely from stone. The room was empty, but the rock walls had numerous hieroglyphs carved into them, which Thomas examined.

"Astounding," he said, "These must have been carved centuries ago! Do you have any idea what is happening in this image?"

Thomas pointed to a crude etching of two robed men hovering above a crowd of worshipers. Kyria moved in closer to observe it.

"The Cabeiri," began Kyria, "The original guardians of the forge."

"Who?"

"When Hephaestus landed in Lemnos, he met a sea nymph named Cabeiro and through her, bore three children, who came to be known as the Cabeiri. After one of them was killed, the remaining two were placed in charge of watching over the island's inhabitants following Hepheastus' return to Olympus. The islanders worshiped them as gods in their own right."

"Fascinating."

Thomas moved over to the next series of images, which displayed a group of men forging a large, triangular sword.

"My word," he said, "It's the birth of Soul Edge!"

"Originally," explained Kyria, "Soul Edge was not intended to be a vile weapon; it was centuries of slaughter and bloodshed that corrupted it."

"If only I could travel back in time and tell them how bad of an idea it was."

Thomas made his way over to the last hieroglyph in the room. It portrayed an angelic female figure with rays of light emanating from her head. She was surrounded by men on their knees in prayer.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"Harmonia," replied Kyria, pointing at the etching, "See? She bears her namesake necklace."

"Really? Does that mean that Harmonia herself present at this very forge? For what purpose?"

"Perhaps she came, seeking a way to remove the necklace?"

"Kyria, you mentioned that Harmonia and her husband were transformed into reptiles; this forge happens to be crawling with them…"

"You feel there is a connection?"

"What if all those who come into contact with the necklace eventually transform into those things? Like some sort of curse, or plague, perhaps?"

"All the more reason to stop the Fygul Cestemus, then. If this etching is any indication, Christine is safe, so long as she remains bound to the necklace. The Lizardmen will worship her as they worshiped Harmonia."

"That's good to know…No doubt the Grand Priests have already figured that out and are using it to their full advantage."

Thomas and Kyria moved into the adjacent room, which also bore etchings, though this time, instead of images, they consisted of various geometric designs and patterns.

"What is all this?" asked Thomas.

"It is what I had been hoping to find here," said Kyria, "A map of the forge."

"This whole thing is a map?" asked Thomas.

"Yes," Kyria pointed to a large square at the north of the map, "That is the main room. It is here the Fygul are taking Christine."

"What about all this?"

Thomas pointed to a series of squares and circles beneath the main room, accompanied by some Greek text.

"Hmmm," said Kyria, reading the text, "It appears to be a sort of failsafe."

"Failsafe?"

"Yes, in the event the forge ever needed to be destroyed. The main chamber is supported by four iron pillars. When these two vents are released, gallons of molten steel will come pouring down, dissolving the pillars and bringing down the forge's primary support structure."

"Rather ingenious, except with everyone transformed into bloody lizards, there's no one left to complete the task."

Thomas approached Kyria and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, Kyria," he began, "I know that destroying the forge was your primary mission, so whatever happens, I need you to run down to that chamber and end this, once and for all."

"Thomas," she said, "Are you mad? We have to save Christine!"

"I'll go. She's my responsibility, and you've done enough for her already. Bring this forge down, Kyria, and if Christine and I don't make it out, at least the necklace and everything else connected to this madness will go down with us."

Kyria nodded and backed away. She directed Thomas' attention a series of steel pipes emerging from the wall and ceiling.

"See those?" she said, pointing, "According to this map, those pipes draw magma directly from the volcano to the forge's furnace. If you follow them, you will find Christine. Avoid confrontation wherever possible."

"Thank you," said Thomas, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

As the duo split up and each headed their own way, Thomas stopped and turned towards Kyria one last time.

"Kyria!" he called.

Kyria turned as well.

"May the gods be with you," he said.

"And with you, Thomas," said Kyria, "See you on the other side."

* * *

After hours of navigating the complex structure, Christine and the priests finally reached the main forge. The room was massive, and in the shape of a half-circle. Narrow rectangular openings in the stone wall acted as windows, allowing them to gaze out at the night sky.

A gap at the back end of the room exposed an enormous pool of molten magma hundreds of feet below, brightly illuminating the chamber. Pipes emerging from the rear wall allowed magma to cascade like waterfalls down into the fiery abyss.

Several ancient tools were left abandoned in the room, including anvils, hammers and even incomplete weapons, all in remarkable shape for their age. A stone bed lay in the centre, which the cultists dragged Christine to.

"STOP IT!" she pleaded, "Let me go!"

"It's useless to resist," Kunpaetku spoke with a smile, "We are here now, and the ritual is about to begin."

The cultists restrained Christine's arms and legs using metal clamps. Valnykuluk slowly approached the table, holding a ceremonial dagger.

"Christine," said the Grand Priest, "The time has come for you to give up your pound of flesh so that Soul Edge may live again."

"Pound of flesh?" the young woman demanded.

"Indeed. You and the necklace are bonded now. Its cursed energy runs through your veins."

As Valnykuluk spoke, he lightly dragged the blade across Christine's wrist.

"You promised me I would survive," begged Christine, "You told me…"

"I will do all I can," explained the priest, "The blood loss will be significant, yes, but death is not always guaranteed. Should you not survive, your sacrifice will be greatly honoured."

"You monster!" Christine spat, "I don't want this! Please, let me go!"

As Valnykuluk and Christine exchanged words, Kunpaetku and the two other cultists bowed their heads and folded their hands. Kunpaetku briefly glanced up at his two accomplices and tilted his head towards Valnykuluk, prompting them to nod in acknowledgement.

"May the Great Palgaea guide my hand," proclaimed Valnykuluk, raising the knife, "As I…"

Before Valnykuluk could start the ritual, the two priests jumped him from behind. One held his knife-wielding arm back while the other drew his sword and sliced off his forearm.

"RAAAAAGH!" the Grand Priest screamed in agony as he backed away from the table, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

Still clutching his bloodied arm, Valnykuluk backed all the way to the railing that bordered the edge of the chasm. Tears ran down Valnykuluk's eyes as Kunpaetku and his two accomplices approached the pitiful priest. From atop the table, Christine observed the strange turn of events in confusion.

"Kunpaetku," whimpered Valnykuluk, "What are you doing?"

"Foolish old man," said Kunpaetku, "There is no need to resurrect Soul Edge, for it is already alive."

Both Valnykuluk and Christine gasped in shock.

"Lies!" spat Valnykuluk, "The Great Palgaea would not have kept such a revelation from me!"

"Oh," said Kunpaetku, "But he did. You see, old man, your time is up. Palgaea has no more need of a washed-up degenerate such as yourself. _I_ am the future of his organization; all that he sees, I see as well…"

The two cultists approached Valnykuluk and forcefully suspended him over the railing.

"…Including your end!"

Kunpaetku laughed maniacally as the cultists released Valnykuluk, sending him falling into the fiery pool below. The Grand Priest's screams caused Christine to shudder in fear. What was in store for her now?

* * *

The pipes in the ceiling led Thomas down a series of rectangular tunnels carved through the volcano's interior, all held up by steel support beams. A bright orange glow emanated from the cracks in the rock wall, illuminating the area. The heat was unlike anything Thomas ever experienced before. In his search for Christine, he had to stop and catch his breath numerous times.

"I have to keep going," he said, stopping to wipe sweat away from his forehead, "I cannot let her die!"

Just as he was about to turn the corner, Thomas spotted a Lizardman on patrol and immediately retreated behind the corner. The creature glanced upwards and began sniffing the air.

"This creature must have been a priest once," Thomas thought, as he observed its black robes, "The only question is: What is a priest doing in a forge?"

As the creature began heading in his direction, Thomas snuck away, opting to take a different path instead.

"I am in no way equipped to deal with these things," he said to himself, "I best go about this carefully…"

As Thomas made his way down the corridor, he saw another Lizardman cross his path and immediately took cover behind one of the steel beams. He peered over and watched the creature pass by. When the coast was clear, Thomas continued onward.

* * *

Elsewhere, Kyria searched the lower levels searching for the chamber that housed the failsafe. In her search, Kyria found herself in a dark tunnel that resembled a mine. The remains of old tools and equipment were scattered about and stalagmites dotted the entire area.

"This must be where they gathered materials to forge the weapons," she thought to herself, "I should be getting close."

Just then, she heard a roar behind her. Kyria turned around and saw a Lizardman rolling towards her at high speed. Kyria immediately threw herself to the ground to dodge it.

"ACK!" she cried, striking the ground.

Though this Lizardman did not wield any weapons, its fangs and claws made it a formidable foe nonetheless. The creature hissed at Kyria and slammed one of its claws down on her. Kyria raised her shield to block the blow, then rolled out of the way.

"Enough of this!" she spat, as she stood back up.

The Lizardman hissed once more, then came charging at her. Kyria rolled out of the way, but not before piercing its ribs. The creature roared in agony and fell to its knees; Kyria used this opportunity to flee. The creature slowly returned to its feet and began pursuit.

"This is not good," Kyria muttered, as she continued running.

* * *

"I must be getting close," observed Thomas.

After navigating the forge for what felt like hours, Thomas began to hear screaming, accompanied by the clash of metal.

"Cultists?" asked Thomas, "Sounds like they're being ripped to shreds!"

As Thomas turned the corner, he came face-to-face with one of them, causing him to jump back in surprise. The cultist did not attack, however; he merely coughed up some blood, then fell to his knees while clinging onto Thomas for support. Thomas slowly laid the dying man on the ground, allowing him to expire peacefully.

"Damn," muttered Thomas, wiping his hands clean of the man's blood, "They must have found a different way in. Hopefully, Christine is among them."

Thomas continued running down the corridor, eventually reaching the main foyer in which a vicious battle between cultists and Lizardmen was taking place.

"Christine?" Thomas called for his wife amidst the chaos, "Christine! Damnit, they must have already taken her deep inside!"

Not wanting to get involved in the conflict, Thomas decided to sneak away, but not before searching some of the cultists' corpses. In one of them, he found a loaded pistol.

"Ah-ha!" said Thomas, examining the weapon, "Just what I needed."

Thomas headed down the next corridor, away from the battle. Unfortunately, he had been spotted by a Lizardman, who immediately roared and pushed past numerous cultists to pursue Thomas.

"Uh-oh," thought Thomas, as he turned a corner, "I'm being followed aren't I?"

As Thomas disappeared from sight, the creature stopped and began sniffing the air, trying to scope him out.

"The sulfur's odor must be clouding its sense of smell," said Thomas, "Good. That'll buy me some time, at least."

As Thomas began to run down the corridor, he was greeted by yet another Lizardman.

"Oh…" he said.

* * *

Many thoughts raced through Christine's head following Kunpaetku's brutal murder of Valnykuluk. The young priest uttered something to his accomplices, then turned to face her.

"Christine," he said, smiling widely.

"Soul Edge lives?" she demanded, "That's impossible! My husband…"

"Failed?" chuckled Kunpaetku, "Indeed he did. Soul Edge cannot be destroyed so easily. Palgaea informs me that as we speak, its current host gathers souls to restore it to full strength. But Soul Edge is not our current priority; you are."

" _Me_?"

Kunpaetku approached the stone bed that Christine lay upon and began feeling the young woman's skin with his hand.

"What do you know of the original proprietors of the necklace?" he asked her, "Harmonia and Cadmus?"

"They were transformed into reptiles," said Christine, recalling Kyria's words, "Divine retribution for Cadmus's slaying of a dragon."

"Cadmus' 'divine retribution' was merely to serve Palgaea as his champion. Modern literature tends to omit the events that transpired between then and his eventual fate."

Kunpaetku then stroked Christine's necklace, causing her to turn her head away in disgust.

"After his marriage to Harmonia," he continued, "Palgaea sought her necklace for his own personal needs. In exchange for it, he promised to free Cadmus from servitude. Thus, Cadmus brought Harmonia here, to this very forge, seeking a way to remove the artefact without damaging it or harming his wife."

"Surely," began Christine, "He succeeded?"

"Indeed. Cadmus brought with him the high priests of Palgaea – Predecessors of the Fygul Cestemus – To perform a sacred ritual that was to remove the cursed necklace, but something went wrong; a 'happy' accident, if you will.

"You see, the ritual required Cadmus to draw some of his own blood, which had become tainted during his battle with the dragon years earlier. The ritual succeeded, but all those involved became infected, beginning their slow and painful transformation into the reptiles that now permanently occupy this forge. Cadmus and Harmonia escaped, but they too eventually turned."

"So, those Lizardmen, they…"

"Were once ordinary men, yes. Now, they are formidable warriors. Valnykuluk's men hardly stood a chance against them!"

"You knew those creatures would be here! You allowed your own men to die at their hands!"

"My dear, those men were loyal to Valnykuluk, and thus would never have tolerated my takeover. A complete purge was necessary in order for my plan to succeed. Now, the time has come to build a new Fygul Cestemus. Once I send the message to every last cultist around the world, they will converge here, our new headquarters, where the construction of our mighty army will begin!"

Christine's eyes widened with fear as Kunpaetku drew a small phial of blood from his robes. The two other cultists moved closer to him, their hands folded in prayer.

"And now," Kunpaetku proclaimed, "With this last remaining sample of Cadmus' blood, I shall recreate the experiment that led to the birth of these monsters. You will be our first subject – The prototype, if you will – Whom all the other Lizardmen will serve as Queen. And, with almighty weapons crafted in this forge, they will sweep across the world like a wildfire, leaving nothing but destruction and carnage in their wake!"

"No!" pleaded Christine, "You can't do this!"

"And it is you we will have to thank," said Kunpaetku with a smile, "Truth be told, I was hoping that our first creation be a man, but I am excited to see the results, nonetheless."

Christine began thrashing about as Kunpaetku and the cultists recited prayers. Kunpaetku drew his own ceremonial dagger and clutched it tightly against his heart.

* * *

With another Lizardman now in pursuit of him, Thomas had no choice but to flee from the corridor he was hiding in. The previous Lizardman, who had been scouting him, spotted him and began to pursue him as well. As Thomas ran through another corridor, the two Lizardmen crashed into each other and fell to the ground.

"I suppose it's a good thing they're rather clumsy, eh?" mused Thomas.

Upon exiting the corridor, Thomas found himself at a dead end. There was nowhere else to run.

"Now what?" he asked.

Just then, Thomas spotted a large square window carved into the wall. With the creatures not far behind him, Thomas climbed outside, placing both feet on a narrow ridge and clutching the volcano's jagged rocks for support.

"Remember Kyria's advice," he said to himself, "Don't look down…"

The Lizardmen looked around for Thomas before giving up their pursuit. Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright then," he said, "Now I…What was that?"

Thomas heard a familiar cry coming from somewhere not far away.

"Christine!" he gasped, "But where…"

Thomas looked to his right and saw another window, similar to the one he just climbed out of. A fiery orange glow emanated from it.

"That must be it," he said, "The forge! Hang on, Christine! I'm coming!"

Thomas' mountain-climbing skills were far from perfect, but with his original path blocked by Lizardmen, he was left with no other choice. He needed to get to Christine as quickly as possible and this was the fastest way now. Thomas began to sidle his way across on the narrow ridge, while continuing to clutch the rocks.

"Almost there," grunted Thomas, "Just…WOAH!"

Thomas slipped, leaving him hanging by one arm. For a brief moment, Thomas glanced down and realized just how truly high up he was.

"Hephaestus," said Thomas, "Zeus, Harmonia – Whoever's up there – Please, don't let me die, not when my wife is counting on me!"

Thomas recovered and continued his climb towards the window. When he eventually reached it, he took a look inside and saw Kunpaetku standing over Christine, holding a dagger.

"No," whispered Thomas, "Christine!"

Kunpaetku and the priests were too distracted by the ritual to notice Thomas jumping inside.

"I have one shot at this," he said, drawing his pistol, "I best make it count…"

Thomas' hand trembled as he took aim at Kunpaetku. This was it; his last chance to save her...


	15. Last Resort

**Chapter 14:**

Kyria had managed to outrun the injured Lizardman and reach the chamber beneath the forge. It was an enormous room consisting of a rectangular platform suspended over magma by a set of iron columns at each end. The platform had become heavily cracked over time, creating large chasms. The sides were decorated with beautiful Greek-style arches and columns. Colossal statues, representing Hepheastus' sons, the Cabeiri, stood at each end of the platform. They were carved from the rock walls and overlooked the iron columns holding up the platform.

"This must be it," she said, "Now, all I have to do is find the mechanism to destroy those columns."

As Kyria took a look around, she failed to notice the Lizardman standing behind her until it was too late.

"By the…" she said, as she turned around.

The creature roared and swung its claw at Kyria's torso, knocking her back. Kyria hit the ground hard and coughed a few times.

"Damnit," she grunted, placing her right hand just under her chest.

As Kyria removed her hand from her chest, she saw that it was stained in blood. While her armour had absorbed most of the blow, at least one of the claws had penetrated her skin. Kyria observed in horror as a blood stain formed on her chiton around the wound.

Kyria looked up and saw the creature roaring in triumph. The scar on its ribs indicated that it was the same one she fought before. Kyria angrily rose to her feet and drew her weapons.

"I will _not_ die by your hand, beast!" she bellowed, "You want me? Come and take me!"

The creature charged for Kyria, forcing her to block each of its blows with her shield. With every chance she had, Kyria stepped back and slashed its torso, eventually forcing it to its knees.

"Had enough?" she asked.

Without warning, the Lizardman sprung up and lunged at Kyria. Despite blocking with both her sword and shield, the impact was such that she was sent flying backwards several feet. Her sword flew from her hands and into one of the chasms.

"Now what?" she muttered.

* * *

Back in the forge, Christine struggled to break free as the priests hovered over her, reciting their prayers. Kunpaetku slowly raised his dagger over his head and prepared to bring it down on Christine.

"PLEASE!" she shouted, "STOP!"

Just then, a gunshot echoed throughout the room. Kunpaetku, having been struck in the shoulder, dropped both his dagger and the phial.

"Thomas?" said Christine.

Thomas nodded to Christine while tossing away his smoking pistol. Kunpaetku glared at the man who stood before him, threatening to bring about the end to his plans.

"What are you waiting for?" Kunpaetku cried, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!"

The two cultists drew swords and charged for Thomas.

"That's right," taunted Thomas, "Follow me…"

Thomas bolted from the room, forcing the cultists to pursue him.

"After him!" yelled one of them.

Thomas ran outside the room with his weapon drawn, searching for the Lizardmen he had so desperately tried to evade earlier.

"Now would be as good a time as ever," thought Thomas, "Uh-oh!"

"HIYAAAA!"

The cultists had split up, each taking separate corridors. One managed to intercept Thomas and brought his sword down on him. Thomas raised his rapier to block the blow, then turned and tried to run the other way, only to encounter the other cultist. With both cultists attacking him at once, Thomas ducked, allowing their swords to clash, then ran to safety.

"That was close," he said

With the cultists right behind him, he led them into an adjacent hallway, where one of the Lizardmen he encountered earlier awaited. The two cultists behind Thomas stopped dead in their tracks.

"By the gods," said one of them, "It's those things again!"

"RUN!" screamed the other.

The three men ran from the corridor, with Thomas managing to push past and sprint ahead. He turned the next corner and hid while the Lizardman continued its pursuit of the cultists. Within seconds, he could hear the sounds of their screams followed by the tearing of flesh.

"Alright," he said, "Now, to get Christine!"

* * *

Back in the chamber, Kyria continued her battle against the lone Lizardman. She used her shield to block its blows, but without her sword, victory was impossible. Glancing down the chasm, Kyria found her weapon had not fallen into the magma, but rather, upon a ledge just a few metres down. She needed it back by any means necessary.

Kyria leapt into the chasm, plunging her shield into the rock wall to slow her descent. As she stepped onto the ledge where her sword lay, the Lizardman jumped in after her, using its claw to slow its fall. Kyria readied her sword and slashed at the creature's thigh as it lunged at her, causing it to fall to the ground hard. The impact caused the ledge to crack and come loose, so Kyria began to climb her way out.

"I have to get out of here," she thought.

The Lizardman leapt off of the ledge as it broke off and plummeted below, grasping the rock wall with its claws. Ever-persistent, it began climbing up after Kyria.

"Begone, beast!" she commanded, "Stay away!"

While clutching onto the rock wall with her left hand, Kyria used her free hand to ward off the Lizardman. The creature managed to grab Kyria's leg, sinking its claws deep into her calf.

"RAAAAGH!" she cried.

Kyria swung her sword once more, slicing off its forearm. As the creature howled in pain, Kyria pierced its chest, causing it to lose its grip and fall to its doom.

"That was too close," she said, holstering her sword.

Injured, but alive, Kyria climbed out of the chasm to safety After looking around momentarily, she finally spotted the mechanism needed to destroy the forge; a crank at each end of the platform. Kyria clutched her wounded chest and limped her way over to the first one.

"I hope this works," she prayed.

With every turn of the crank, the mouth of the first statue began to open. A torrent of magma flowed from the opening, spilling all over the first two iron columns. Almost immediately, they began to deteriorate from the immense heat.

"Just one more," Kyria thought, "Thomas, I pray you've found Christine and are safe..."

* * *

Back in the forge, the injured Kunpaetku collected his items and stood back up.

"For the love of Palgaea!" he snapped, "Come, it's time to leave! That fool could have led those creatures here!"

After removing the first clamp holding down Christine's wrist, Kunpaetku headed over to remove the next clamp. With her right hand free, Christine reached into a nearby barrel containing ore rods. She drew one and used it to strike Kunpaetku in his damaged shoulder, causing him to cry in pain and fall over. She then proceeded to strike him in the back of the head, knocking him down.

" _Parfait_ ," she said.

With both hands free, Christine undid the clamps holding down her legs and quickly stood up. She stepped on the fallen phial containing Cadmus' blood, shattering it, and collected Kunpaetku's dagger. Afterwards, she cautiously approached the exit, where she heard footsteps nearing. Readying her weapon, she pounced on the intruder.

"WOAH!" yelled Thomas grabbing her wrist, "Christine, calm down! It's me!"

"Oh, Thomas!" she sobbed, hugging him, "I can't you believe you made it!"

"Come," said the young man, "We have to get out of here!"

"What about the necklace?"

Thomas looked around the room and spotted the furnace used to melt ore. It was connected to one of the many "magma pipes" running along the ceiling.

"Only fire from the forge can destroy the necklace," he muttered, "Give me your dagger, quickly!"

Christine handed Thomas Kunpaetku's dagger. Using a pair of iron clamps, he inserted the item into the furnace.

"Thomas," began Christine, "What are you doing?"

"You're going to have to trust me on this," said Thomas.

Thomas removed the dagger from the furnace, exposing its red-hot tip. The rest of the dagger was quite hot as well, forcing Thomas to wrap the handle with a cloth before grabbing it.

"If you value the skin on your neck," he began, "Please, for the love of God, hold still."

"Just get it over with," begged Christine, with tears in her eyes.

To reduce trembling, Thomas placed both hands firmly on the dagger's handle. He slowly brought its red-hot point to the necklace and held it for a moment, producing steam. Once Thomas pulled the dagger away, Christine was finally able to undo the necklace and remove it.

"I don't believe it," she said, "It worked!"

"Come," said Thomas, "It's time to dispose of it."

As Thomas and Christine ran to the railing, Kunpaetku came to. Immediately, he sprung up and bolted towards them.

"NOOOO!" he yelled.

Christine glared at the Grand Priest while tossing the necklace over the railing and into the magma pool below. Defeated, Kunpaetku collapsed to the floor, clutching the railing for support.

"You don't know what you've done!" he cried, "Years of planning, RUINED!"

"You are a liar," said Thomas, "And a hypocrite. You never served Palgaea, only yourself!"

"Come, Thomas," whispered Christine, "Let's get out of here."

Thomas and Christine ran from the room, leaving the Grand Priest to wallow in despair.

"You think this is over, Thomas?" he muttered, "Oh no, far from it. You took everything from me, so now, I've no choice but to return the favour. Time to activate the 'final resort'."

Kunpaetku approached one of the windows and pulled a small metal pan flute from within his robes. The priest then took a deep breath and blew as hard as he could, producing a faint, high-pitched whistle, barely audible to a human ear.

At the foot of the volcano, surrounded by the corpses of both Fygul cultists and Lizardmen, the tarp-covered cage containing the "Final Resort" lay on its side, knocked over in the chaos of battle. As the sound of the whistle echoed across the landscape, loud knocking could be heard from within the cage…

* * *

"Quickly," urged Thomas, "We have to keep moving!"

Hand-in-hand, Thomas and Christine ran through the forge, desperately searching for an exit. A sudden, violent tremor nearly knocked them down.

"Thomas," began Christine, "What was that?"

"Oh, uh, that would be Kyria. It would seem she has already triggered the forge's destruction."

"WHAT? But we're still inside!"

"I know, Christine. The plan was destroy it whether I succeeded or failed. All we can do now is run."

"Do you even know where you're going?"

"Er, good question…"

Thomas and Christine stopped to examine the multiple pathways that lay before them. As Thomas tried to determine which way to go, a herd of Lizardmen emerged from one of them.

"Woah!" he said, "Definitely not by there! Come on!"

Thomas pulled Christine down the opposite corridor. Another tremor caused the duo to momentarily lose their balance. Behind them, one of the overhead pipes burst, spilling magma all over the corridor. Thankfully, Thomas and Christine were nowhere near it.

"This is bad," said Christine.

"Not quite," said Thomas, "Look!"

Thomas drew her attention to a corridor filled with Fygul corpses.

"Dead cultists is always a good sign," he said, "Just follow the trail of corpses!"

"That's a rather morbid form of navigation," Christine quipped.

As Thomas and Christine ran down the corridor, the Lizardmen continued their pursuit. However, another tremor struck, knocking them all down. As more pipes burst, Thomas and Christine did their best to block out the blood-curdling cries of Lizardmen being burned alive.

"Don't look," said Thomas, "Just focus on ahead!"

By the time they reached the courtyard outside, the morning sun was beginning to appear over the horizon. After spending so much time inside the volcano, the outdoor air seemed freezing cold by comparison. Thomas and Christine took a deep breath and observed their surroundings.

"I can't believe we made it," said Christine.

"Indeed," said Thomas, "I just hope Kyria found a way out as well…"

"Thomas, there is something you need to know: Soul Edge is alive!"

"What? But, how?"

"Kunpaetku said so himself; not even Valnykuluk knew of this. If that's true, then…"

Just then, another tremor struck. Lava burst through the rock wall and cascaded down the side of the volcano, all around the courtyard. Pieces of the mountain broke off while an enormous cloud of ash erupted from the top of the volcano.

"Jesus!" exclaimed Thomas, "Look, we'll discuss this later. For now, we must get as far away from here as possible!"

As Christine and Thomas headed for the staircase, they found their path blocked by a seven-foot-tall humanoid donning spiked boots and gauntlets along with an executioner's fauld. The lower half of its face was covered by a thick, leather mask.

The creature was completely hairless, with tan-coloured skin that appeared to have "cracks" in it, as though it had been roughly molded from clay. Its most unusual features were the rotating gears protruding from its back, and its heart, which rested outside of its chest. Like Wilhelm, the creature wielded a giant axe.

"What on Earth is that?" asked Thomas.

"BEHOLD!" said a voice, "OUR PROTOTYPE! The first-ever artificial man!"

Thomas and Christine turned around and saw Kunpaetku standing on the balcony above the forge entrance.

"Kunpaetku!" snapped Thomas.

"This thing," began Christine, "This was to be your so-called 'final resort'?"

"Yes," explained Kunpaetku, "Except I dared not activate it in order to ensure the success of my purge. But now that you two have foiled my plans, I shall leave you at its mercy. See, Thomas, so long as I live, this organization will never die. In time, we _will_ rebuild, and Soul Edge _will_ one day be ours!"

Kunpaetku drew his metal pan flute once more.

"…And you two," he continued, "Will no longer be around to stop me!"

He then blew into the flute, agitating the golem .

"So long!" the Grand Priest cackled as he fled the scene, "May you rot in Hades!"

The creature roared and charged for the duo. It slammed its axe down, forcing Thomas and Christine to leap in separate directions.

"There's no way we can outrun it," said Thomas, "We have to stop it!"

"How?" demanded Christine

"Its gears - They must be directing its movements! If we can somehow disable them…"

"I'll distract it."

"No, Christine! Don't…"

Christine ran to the monster's side and began waving her arms.

" _Ici_ _!_ " she yelled, "Come and get me!"

Due to the creature being powered by clockwork, its movements were jerky. Nevertheless, it remained a grave threat. As the creature lumbered its way over towards Christine, Thomas drew his rapier and began piercing its back, hoping to damage the gears.

"It's no use," said Thomas, "I…"

The golem turned around, swinging its mighty axe. Thomas ducked to avoid the blow. Christine ran to its side and tried to distract it away from Thomas, but the creature simply backhanded her, sending her flying a considerable distance.

"CHRISTINE!" yelled Thomas.

Christine was out cold, leaving Thomas alone to deal with the beast. Despite his best efforts, Thomas could not get close to it.

"What do I do now?" he wondered.

Just then, Kyria appeared on the balcony above the entrance, observing the battle occurring below.

"Damnit," she muttered, "Hang on, Thomas!"

Thinking quickly, Kyria drew her sword and leapt over the railing. She landed on the golem's back and plunged her sword deep into its skin to prevent herself from falling. With her shield, she began hammering away at the gears.

"Kyria?" said Thomas, "What are you doing?"

Each blow Kyria dealt dented the gears, disrupting the golem's movements. The creature did all it could do shake Kyria off, but she held on tightly.

"Hang on, Kyria," said Thomas raising his sword, "I'm coming!"

"Just leave," she ordered, "Take Christine and get…WOAH!"

The golem reached behind with his left arm and grabbed Kyria's leg. With all of its strength, it flung Kyria across the courtyard like a ragdoll. She struck one of the four corner pillars, producing an audible "Crack". Kyria's body wrapped almost completely around the column before collapsing to the floor.

"NOOOO!" screamed Thomas, "KYRIAAA!"

With its gears heavily damaged, the golem could no longer move its right arm. Both steam and a black oil-like substance leaked profusely from its back. Despite its injuries, it continued to pursue Thomas, wielding its axe in its left hand.

"You're going to pay, you bastard!" cried Thomas, "You hear me?"

Thomas charged for the golem, plunging his rapier into its left forearm. The creature howled in pain as more steam and oil leaked from the wound. Thomas forced the sword deeper, hoping to slice off the arm, but its skin was far tougher than he thought. Still, the pain was enough to force the monster to drop its weapon.

"Enough of this!" snapped Thomas, "It's time…To…Die!"

Thomas withdrew his sword from the creature's arm and used it to slash its chest. Thomas followed that up with another slash, weakening it further. Just as Thomas prepared to pierce its heart, the golem grabbed Thomas' shirt collar and hurled him into the air. Thomas landed face-down near the edge of the staircase and watched in horror as his rapier rolled down the steps.

"I can't…" he muttered.

Elsewhere, Christine began to regain consciousness. She watched as the golem lumbered over towards her husband.

"Th-Thomas?" she groaned, "No!"

Thomas turned onto his back just in time to see the golem hovering above him. The golem reached down and lifted him up by the neck, slowly strangling the life out of him. Just as Thomas' vision began to fade, the golem suddenly dropped him.

"GACK!" Thomas gasped for air as he hit the ground, "What the…"

Upon looking up, he saw Christine standing next to the golem, plunging Kunpaetku's dagger into its exposed heart.

"Christine?" said Thomas.

Steam and black oil poured from the golem's heart as it backed away. The creature clutched its head in agony and fell to its knees, while steam erupted from its back like a geyser. Eventually, the creature fell, face-first, to the floor and ceased moving.

"W-We did it!" exclaimed Thomas, "We won! Christine, that was brilliant!"

Thomas ran to Christine and they embraced in silence for a moment.

"Thomas," said Christine, "After everything you've done for me, there was no way I could let you die."

"I know, Christine," whispered Thomas, "Thank you so, so much."

Just then, the two heard a groan.

"Oh my God," said Thomas, "Kyria!"

Thomas and Christine ran to Kyria's body, which rested on the ground near the pillar she struck. Kyria was cold and pale and blood ran from both her nose and mouth.

"Th-Thomas," she whispered, "Christine…I am relieved to see that you are safe…"

"Shhh," said Thomas, "You're hurt. We need to take you to a hospital. There must be one somewhere on this island!"

"Thomas," Kyria spoke in between gasps, "There's no time…Can't even move…Just save yourselves…"

"No," said Thomas, as tears ran down his face, "That's not true. We can patch you up, we just…"

"You know it's too late for me," said Kyria, "Just leave me to die in peace."

"You can't die!" Thomas sobbed, "There's still so much to do! Kunpaetku still lives! _Soul Edge_ still lives! How do I stop them without you?"

"You don't…This was never to be your fate, Thomas. Go home, and be with your wife. When the time is right, Hephaestus will summon new warriors to deal with the threat. For now, our work is complete…"

Thomas clutched Kyria's hand and began sobbing. Christine turned her head away to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Soon," Kyria continued, "Once my final breath is drawn, I will be reunited with Pallene in Elysium. Go, Thomas. Leave this place far behind and never look back. May the gods watch over you always."

Once Kyria took her last remaining breaths, she turned her head to the side and slowly closed her eyes.

"NOOOO!" cried Thomas, "KYRIAAAA!"

Christine placed a hand on Thomas' back while wiping some of her own tears. For about a minute, the two knelt over Kyria's body in silence. It was the sudden quaking of the ground beneath them that snapped them out of their grief.

"Thomas," said Christine, standing up, "This place is falling apart. We have to leave!"

"I know," said Thomas, wiping his eyes, "Let's go."

Thomas and Christine glanced one last time at Kyria's body as they made their way down the stairs leading to the bottom of the volcano. More lava came pouring down the volcano as the courtyard began to crumble and break.

"Hurry!" urged Christine.

On the way down the stairs, Thomas collected his fallen rapier. The couple wound up at the same path they had taken earlier, only now, it was abandoned and littered with corpses. Thomas could still hear cultists and Lizardmen battling somewhere in the distance, but like the forge, it was only a matter of time before they would meet their end.

Thomas led Christine to the area where he and Kyria had parked their horses. Thomas and Christine mounted them and set off as far away from the volcano as they possibly could.

"It's over, Christine," said Thomas, "We are safe now..."


	16. A Journey's End

**Chapter 15:**

With the morning sun fully risen, Thomas and Christine reached the shore at the north end of the island. There, the caravel Thomas and Kyria used previously awaited, rocking gently as it rested atop the waves. The couple disembarked their horses and took a seat on a large rock near the shore. It was their first real break in what felt like a very long time. The two said nothing as they observed the volcano's eruption from the safety of the shore. Their time in the forge already seemed like a distant memory.

Thomas turned to face Christine; now that she was no longer bound to the necklace, her skin had returned to a healthy colour and the dark circles under her eyes were beginning to fade. Despite all that he lost on this voyage, Thomas found himself overcome with joy and relief. It no longer mattered to him what role destiny played in his voyage, or if his actions even had any lasting impact. Christine, the woman he would have sailed the world a hundred times over for, was finally by his side once again. Thomas smiled and clutched her hand tightly.

"So it's really over, huh?" she said, ending the silence.

"I suppose so," said Thomas, "If Soul Edge really is still out there, I doubt there is much we can do anymore to stop it."

Christine sighed heavily.

"Thomas," she said, "I'm sorry…For everything I said to you while we were at sea. It was wrong of me to accuse you of being unhappy."

"Christine," said Thomas, "I should be the one apologizing. What you said wasn't entirely wrong."

"Oh?"

"The truth is, I wasn't happy living as a noble. In fact, I was completely miserable. Instead of being appreciative of all that I had, I spent my days dwelling on the past, praying for an escape. I now realize how selfish and ungrateful I was being. When they took you away from me, I traveled through seas and over mountains to get you back because that was all that mattered to me. Never again will I take you for granted, Christine. You are my everything."

"Oh, Thomas!"

The two then hugged.

"I love you, Thomas," whispered Christine.

"And I you," Thomas whispered back, "Let's go home…"

As the couple embraced, they did not notice a small boat approach the shore where they rested. A hooded man emerged from the boat and slowly made his way toward them.

"Uh, Thomas?" said Christine, observing the man.

Thomas immediately drew his sword and pointed it straight at the man.

"You there," he commanded, "What do you want?"

"Hold, Thomas," the figure spoke in a familiar voice, "I am not your enemy. I have come searching for you."

"Can it be?" asked Thomas, sheathing his rapier, "After all these years? Impossible…"

The man removed his hood, exposing his face. He possessed long, white hair and matching beard, as well as purple facial markings.

"Edge Master?" said Christine, "I don't believe it! I have not seen you since Sorrento!"

"I know," said the old man, "In the chaos, I was cut off from the rendez-vous point. By the time I had reached it, it was far too late. I am relieved to see that the two of you are well."

"What are you doing all the way out here?" asked Thomas, "Have you been tracking us?"

"Years ago," explained Edge Master, "The foul stench of the Evil Seed faded from the winds. It quickly occurred to me that you two had succeeded in your quest to vanquish Soul Edge. I couldn't have been prouder. In time, however, those dark energies began to return. I sense the evil seed once more and it is growing stronger by the day. "

"So it's true, then?" began Thomas, "Soul Edge is still out there?"

"Yes, Thomas," said Edge Master, "But there is a way to destroy it. I have come, seeking your aid. Will you join this old warrior on one last quest to save the world?"

Thomas and Christine glanced at each other reluctantly, then nodded.

"But," began Christine, "What could possibly destroy something as powerful as Soul Edge?"

"Another sword," replied Edge Master, "Equal in strength, but opposite in intent. I know not where it is, but I have a clue. Will you help me find it?"

" _Another_ mystical sword?" wondered Thomas, "Impossible! What could it be?"

"It has gone by a number of different aliases throughout history," the Master explained, "But one name has been used more consistently than the others...To destroy Soul Edge once and for all, we will need the spirit sword, Soul Calibur."


	17. Epilogue: Dawn

**Epilogue:**

 _The Persian Desert - Year Unknown_

Somewhere along the mighty Silk Road lay the crumbling ruins of an old temple. Picked clean centuries ago by looters, the ruins themselves were unremarkable, but the secret they masked was most certainly not; deep beneath them lay a colossal structure hollowed out into the earth. Statues of a certain snake deity lined the massive chamber while men in black robes went about their routines. Pools of a toxic, gaseous substance found throughout the structure emitted a bright, green glow.

A young priest, barely sixteen years of age, suddenly came running into the base. He bolted past several cultists who paid him little attention as they continued their business. The boy continued running before stopping in the centre of a large chamber where several cultists knelt in prayer in front of a shrine.

"Grand Priest," said the boy, "I...Oh, forgive me. I did not realize..."

The man leading the prayer stood up and turned to face the boy. He pulled down his hood, exposing the face of Kunpaetku, albeit slightly aged since the near destruction of his cult at Lemnos years ago.

"Giuseppe," he said, "It's quite alright. We were just about done here."

Kunpaetku turned to the other cultists.

"May we please have a moment?" he asked them.

The cultists nodded and scattered about.

"Tell me, Giuseppe," began the Grand Priest, "What news from Cyprus?"

"Our members there have begun to mobilize," replied Giuseppe, "They were last reported setting sail for Lebanon. So far, your unification has been nothing but a success."

"Indeed," said Kunpaetku, "You see, under Valnykuluk, the Fygul Cestemus was scattered and divided. That is the case no longer. Under me, we will achieve strength through unity. Nothing will ever stand in our way again."

"I look forward to seeing the results, sir."

"Come, Giuseppe. Follow me."

Kunpaetku led the young priest out of the room towards a large elevator at the far end of the hall. After stepping onto the platform, two cultists standing on either end turned a crank, causing the elevator to descend slowly to the lowest level of the base, which housed a laboratory. Numerous glass pods lined the room and tables containing chemical phials occupied the center. The cultists operating in the lab stopped momentarily to bow at Kunpaetku as he passed them by.

"Am I..." began Giuseppe, "Are you sure I can be here?"

"My dear boy," Kunpaetku laughed, "There is no longer a need for secrets. With Valnykuluk gone, now is the time to increase our transparency, more than ever."

"Is this where they created...'It'?"

"You mean the golem? Why, yes. In fact, we have plans to build an even better model. The prototype was far too...'Cumbersome'. We are looking into more supernatural power sources. Though, that is not out top priority at this time."

"Oh?"

"No, this is..."

Kunpaetku led Giuseppe to a giant pod containing an unseen specimen. Giuseppe stared in shock at what lay before him.

"Y-You did it?" he asked, "You found our specimen?"

"It was not easy," explained Kunpaetku, "Most perished when the forge collapsed. However, this one is healthy and strong. By studying its blood, we hope to clone its cells and merge them with those of a human. In time, the army I always dreamed of creating will finally come into fruition!"

Giuseppe moved in for a closer look, revealing that the specimen inside the pod to be a dormant Lizardman. The creature was tied down and had numerous tubes inserted into its skin.

"Remarkable!" exclaimed Giuseppe, "Who will you test the formula on first? Once it is completed, I mean."

"Any healthy human being will make a satisfactory test subject," began Kunpaetku, "But for best results, I want our prototype to be a warrior; someone strong."

"Where do you plan on finding one?"

"Patience, my dear Giuseppe. So long as Soul Edge is out there, the mighty Hephaestus will once again be summoning warriors to destroy it. And when he does, we will have...Our subject."

The Grand Priest chuckled to himself while Giuseppe continued to admire the specimen.

"Soon," he continued, "The hour of the Fygul Cestemus is at hand..."


End file.
